Addition of a dairy fraction rich in milk fat globule membrane to a high-saturated fat meal reduces the postprandial insulinaemic and inflammatory response in overweight and obese adults.

Elieke Demmer,Tara S Rogers,Erik R Gertz,Marta D Van Loan,J Bruce German,Angela M Zivkovic,Jennifer T Smilowitz,Nancy Rivera

doi:10.1017/jns.2015.42

Abstract

Meals high in SFA, particularly palmitate, are associated with postprandial inflammation and insulin resistance. Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) has anti-inflammatory properties that may attenuate the negative effects of SFA-rich meals. Our objective was to examine the postprandial metabolic and inflammatory response to a high-fat meal composed of palm oil (PO) compared with PO with an added dairy fraction rich in MFGM (PO+MFGM) in overweight and obese men and women (n 36) in a randomised, double-blinded, cross-over trial. Participants consumed two isoenergetic high-fat meals composed of a smoothie enriched with PO with v. without a cream-derived complex milk lipid fraction ( dairy fraction rich in MFGM) separated by a washout of 1-2 weeks. Serum cytokines, adhesion molecules, cortisol and markers of inflammation were measured at fasting, and at 1, 3 and 6h postprandially. Glucose, insulin and lipid profiles were analysed in plasma. Consumption of the PO+MFGM v. PO meal resulted in lower total cholesterol (P=0·021), LDL-cholesterol (P=0·046), soluble intracellular adhesion molecule (P=0·005) and insulin (P=0·005) incremental AUC, and increased IL-10 (P=0·013). Individuals with high baseline C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations (≥3mg/l, n 17) had higher (P=0·030) insulin at 1h after the PO meal than individuals with CRP concentrations <3mg/l (n 19). The addition of MFGM attenuated this difference between CRP groups. The addition of a dairy fraction rich in MFGM attenuated the negative effects of a high-SFA meal by reducing postprandial cholesterol, inflammatory markers and insulin response in overweight and obese individuals, particularly in those with elevated CRP.

Highlights

Meals high in SFA, palmitate, are associated with postprandial inflammation and insulin resistance
Postprandial inflammatory and lipaemic responses are pronounced in individuals with obesity, the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and type 2 diabetes[2,3,4,5], in part because the magnitude of the postprandial inflammatory response is correlated with insulin resistance[6,7]
This study was designed to determine if the addition of Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) to a high-fat meal containing plant-based saturated fat influences postprandial inflammation in overweight and obese individuals

Summary

Introduction

Meals high in SFA, palmitate, are associated with postprandial inflammation and insulin resistance. The addition of a dairy fraction rich in MFGM attenuated the negative effects of a high-SFA meal by reducing postprandial cholesterol, inflammatory markers and insulin response in overweight and obese individuals, in those with elevated CRP. Given the rise in overweight and obesity worldwide[9], potential nutritional interventions that can limit the Abbreviations: CRP, C-reactive protein; iAUC, incremental AUC; MetS, metabolic syndrome; MFGM, milk fat globule membrane; PO, palm oil; sICAM, soluble intracellular adhesion molecule. In addition to functions attributed to its individual components, MFGM as a complex reduced inflammation in vitro, in animals and clinically[18,21,28] It is not known whether the addition of a dairy fraction rich in MFGM to meals high in saturated fat would blunt the postprandial inflammatory response in human subjects. We hypothesised that consuming a high-fat PO + MFGM meal would result in lower pro-inflammatory serum markers compared with the isoenergetic PO meal

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Results

Conclusion