Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine whether the consumption of cherry out of its normal harvest photoperiod affects adipose tissue, increasing the risk of obesity. Fischer 344 rats were held over a long day (LD) or a short day (SD), fed a standard diet (STD), and treated with a cherry lyophilizate (CH) or vehicle (VH) (n = 6). Biometric measurements, serum parameters, gene expression in white (RWAT) and brown (BAT) adipose tissues, and RWAT histology were analysed. A second experiment with similar conditions was performed (n = 10) but with a cafeteria diet (CAF). In the STD experiment, Bmal1 and Cry1 were downregulated in the CHSD group compared to the VHSD group. Pparα expression was downregulated while Ucp1 levels were higher in the BAT of the CHSD group compared to the VHSD group. In the CAF-fed rats, glucose and insulin serum levels increased, and the expression levels of lipogenesis and lipolysis genes in RWAT were downregulated, while the adipocyte area increased and the number of adipocytes diminished in the CHSD group compared to the VHSD group. In conclusion, we show that the consumption of cherry out of season influences the metabolism of adipose tissue and promotes fat accumulation when accompanied by an obesogenic diet.
Highlights
The obesity epidemic has become a worldwide problem over the last few decades caused by factors such as changes in lifestyle, including an increase in highly caloric food intake and a reduction in physical activity
Pparα expression was downregulated while uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) levels were higher in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) of the CHSD group compared to the VHSD group
In the cafeteria diet (CAF)-fed rats, glucose and insulin serum levels increased, and the expression levels of lipogenesis and lipolysis genes in retroperitoneal white adipose tissue (RWAT) were downregulated, while the adipocyte area increased and the number of adipocytes diminished in the CHSD group compared to the VHSD group
Summary
The obesity epidemic has become a worldwide problem over the last few decades caused by factors such as changes in lifestyle, including an increase in highly caloric food intake and a reduction in physical activity. Humans are affected by seasonal changes, which affect body fat mass, activity, or the concentration of hormones all year long [5,6,7] These changes are principally generated by the molecular clock [8], which is a set of autoregulatory loops generated in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) that regulates many physiological mechanisms in organisms, synchronizing the metabolism with the light–dark cycles of the environment, which are known as the photoperiod. This mechanism is especially important in seasonal animals, which adapt in advance to the coming season to increase their chances of survival or reproduction [9,10]. Apart from the central clock in Nutrients 2018, 10, 1102; doi:10.3390/nu10081102 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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