Abstract
In both humans and animals, meat not only constitutes one of the sources of protein, but also includes various water-soluble bioactive substances such as imidazole peptides (carnosine and anserine) and taurine. Previous studies demonstrated that dietary meat species could differently affect physiological functions; however, the mechanisms of this remain unclear. To explore the physiological effects of dietary defatted meat species, especially on metabolism, we investigated their influence on the metabolomic profiles of the liver, gastrocnemius muscle, and cecal content in mice. Casein (control) or a defatted meat species (beef leg, pork leg, chicken leg, or chicken breast) was supplied as the major protein source in the diet for four weeks, and metabolism-related molecules were measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. We found that various metabolite levels in tissues and cecal content differed according to the types of dietary protein consumed. Specifically, differences in carnosine, 1,5-anhydro-glucitol, inositol, butyric acid, and propionic acid were clearly observed. Among them, the highest carnosine intake by dietary pork leg was clearly related to the highest carnosine level in the liver. In addition, taurine intake was suggested to be linked to some metabolic pathways including taurine and hypotaurine metabolism in cecal content. These results provide additional knowledge of the effects of different dietary meat species on human and animal health.
Highlights
The intricate relationship between dietary habits and health is well known, including the role of diet in obesity and metabolic disorders in both humans and animals
We found that the body weights, total food intake, and weights of the liver, brain, lung, gastrocnemius muscle, inguinal fat, epididymal fat, perirenal fat, and brown fat did not differ according to the ingested dietary protein type (Table S1)
Of the 25 amino acids quantified in the liver, the levels of six were influenced by the type of dietary protein (Table S2)
Summary
The intricate relationship between dietary habits and health is well known, including the role of diet in obesity and metabolic disorders in both humans and animals. In humans, meat is one of the major sources of dietary protein; as such, much attention has been paid to the relationship between meat consumption and health [3,4]. In addition to being a source of protein, meat includes water-soluble bioactive substances such as imidazole peptides (carnosine and anserine) [5,6] and taurine [7]. A dipeptide composed of β-alanine and L-histidine, has antioxidant properties [8], buffering capacity [9], anti-inflammatory activity [10], anti-depressant-like effects [11], and ameliorative effects on the manifestations of metabolic syndrome [12]. A dipeptide composed of β-alanine and 1-methyl-L -histidine, has antioxidant properties [8] and buffering capacity [9]. Taurine is an antioxidant [13] and has anti-depressant properties [14]
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