Abstract
It is difficult to know if the cause for obesity is the type of sweetener, high fat (HF) content, or the combination of sweetener and fat. The purpose of the present work was to study different types of sweeteners; in particular, steviol glycosides (SG), glucose, fructose, sucrose, brown sugar, honey, SG + sucrose (SV), and sucralose on the functionality of the adipocyte. Male Wistar rats were fed for four months with different sweeteners or sweetener with HF added. Taste receptors T1R2 and T1R3 were differentially expressed in the tongue and intestine by sweeteners and HF. The combination of fat and sweetener showed an additive effect on circulating levels of GIP and GLP-1 except for honey, SG, and brown sugar. In adipose tissue, sucrose and sucralose stimulated TLR4, and c-Jun N-terminal (JNK). The combination of HF with sweeteners increased NFκB, with the exception of SG and honey. Honey kept the insulin signaling pathway active and the smallest adipocytes in white (WAT) and brown (BAT) adipose tissue and the highest expression of adiponectin, PPARγ, and UCP-1 in BAT. The addition of HF reduced mitochondrial branched-chain amino transferase (BCAT2) branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase E1 (BCKDH) and increased branched chain amino acids (BCAA) levels by sucrose and sucralose. Our data suggests that the consumption of particular honey maintained functional adipocytes despite the consumption of a HF diet.
Highlights
In the last few decades there has been an increase in the consumption of natural and artificial sweeteners [1]
After 4 months of dietary treatment with sweeteners, rats fed with sucrose, SV, or sucralose gained significantly more weight than those fed brown sugar, glucose, or honey, whereas those fed with steviol glycosides (SG), fructose or no sweetener in the water had the lowest weight gain (p = 0.04)
Our study demonstrated that sucrose or sucralose increased Taste 1 receptor member 2 (T1R2) and taste 1 receptor member 3 (T1R3) taste receptors than in turn stimulated intestine and circulating levels of glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), leading to hyperinsulinemia
Summary
In the last few decades there has been an increase in the consumption of natural and artificial sweeteners [1]. The increase in the consumption of natural sweeteners, sucrose (sugar) has been associated with the obesity epidemic worldwide [2]. One of the strategies in reducing this health problem has been the use of artificial sweeteners to reduce energy intake. In the recent years, controversial results have been reported about the consumption of artificial sweeteners that have been associated with a greater risk of being overweight or obese [3]. Other studies have focused on other monosaccharides, fructose [4], and few studies have focused on other natural complex sweeteners, such as honey, brown sugar, steviol glycosides, or the artificial sweetener sucralose [5]. In conditions of persistent intake of sweeteners, some taste receptors type 1 member
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