Dietary supplementation with Smallanthus sonchifolius (yacon) flour improves visceral adiposity and metabolic parameters in high-fat diet fed rats

GRANDE M.V.; SÁNCHEZ S.S.; HONORÉ S.M.

Buenos Aires

Congreso; Reunión Conjunta de Sociedades de Biociencias; 2017

Sociedades de Biociencias

Smallanthus sonchifolius (yacon) is a native plant of South America. Its tubers contain oligofructans (FOS) as the main saccharides and phenolic compounds. The present study was conducted to determine the mechanisms by which yacon roots, ameliorates metabolic dysfunction in obese rats. Male Wistar rats were fed a standard diet (SD) or high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 wk and then divided into threegroups: SD, HFD, and HFD plus yacon roots flour (680 mg FOS/kg body weight: HFD Y). After 8 weeks of treatment, anthropometric, feeding and biochemical parameters were measured. Insulin resistance, glucose tolerance and adipogenesis-related genes were also determined. A second experimental design included SD, HFD, HFD reversed to standard diet (HFD SD) and HFD reversed to standard diet plus yacon roots flour (680 mg FOS/kg body weight: HFD SY).Oral administration of yacon flour significantly reduced HFD-induced body weight gain food intake, feed efficiency and body mass index of the HFD rats. In addition, fat pad masses were reduced in yacon-supplemented rats, as evidenced by reduced adipocyte size.Yacon treatment enhanced plasma adiponectin and decreased plasma leptin concentrations in HFD rats, improved lipid profile, hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia and decreases MCP-1 expression in visceral adipose tissue of HFD fed rats improving glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Such effects were associated with the modulated expression of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-g (PPAR-g), its target genes aP2, C-EBPa and with an up-regulation of the phospho-Protein kinase B (p-Akt) in visceral adipose tissue.The beneficial effects in lipids metabolism were more evident when yacon supplementation was accompanied by a standard diet. These findings suggest that yacon roots administration suppresses HFD-dietinduced obesity and it can be developed as a potential candidate for the treatment of this disease and its associated complications.