Effects of a Calorie-Restricted Cafeteria Diet and Oleuropein Supplementation on Adiposity and mRNA Expression of Energy Balance Related Genes in Obese Male Rats

Abstract

Supplementation with natural bioactive compounds has been proposed to be a complementary tool to the calorie-restricted diets and physical exercise programs used to tackle human overweight, obesity and Metabolic syndrome. Herein, we evaluated the effects of 14 weeks of calorie-restricted cafeteria diet either alone or combined with oral administration of the polyphenol oleuropein in obese adult male rats, compared with a control group fed standard chow and a group fed cafeteria diet. Animals were sacrificed at the age of 26 weeks and several tissues of interest were removed. The results showed that both dietary interventions reduced the adiposity index (p p p p p p Agrp mRNA expression compared to cafeteria-fed obese rats (p p p < 0.05). Experiments with female animals, at different doses and longer intervention periods, are needed to better determine the potential benefits of this dietary treatment.

Keywords

• adiponectin
• calorie restriction
• dietary supplements
• hypothalamus
• leptin
• metabolic syndrome