Abstract
Excessive fat consumption leads to the development of ectopic adipose tissues, affecting the organs they surround. Peripancreatic adipose tissue is implicated in glucose homeostasis regulation and can be impaired in obesity. High palm oil consumption’s effects on health are still debated. We hypothesised that crude and refined palm oil high-fat feeding may have contrasting effects on peripancreatic adipocyte hypertrophy, inflammation and lipid oxidation compound production in obese rats. In Wistar rats, morphological changes, inflammation and isoprostanoid production following oxidative stress were assessed in peripancreatic adipose tissue after 12 weeks of diets enriched in crude or refined palm oil or lard (56% energy from fat in each case) versus a standard chow diet (11% energy from fat). Epididymal white and periaortic brown adipose tissues were also included in the study. A refined palm oil diet disturbed glucose homeostasis and promoted lipid deposition in periaortic locations, as well as adipocyte hypertrophy, macrophage infiltration and isoprostanoid (5-F2c-isoprostane and 7(RS)-ST-Δ8-11-dihomo-isofuran) production in peripancreatic adipose tissue. Crude palm oil induced a lower impact on adipose deposits than its refined form and lard. Our results show that the antioxidant composition of crude palm oil may have a protective effect on ectopic adipose tissues under the condition of excessive fat intake.
Highlights
High fat intake, associated with a sedentary lifestyle, contributes to the development of obesity and obesity-related disorders
An enhancement in the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index was observed in all high-fat groups, and significance was only achieved with the refined PO diet (p < 0.01)
A high dietary intake of refined PO led to an increase in lipid inclusions in periaortic BAT and adipocyte hypertrophy in peripancreatic WAT
Summary
High fat intake, associated with a sedentary lifestyle, contributes to the development of obesity and obesity-related disorders. The type of fatty acids provided may result in different levels of metabolic alterations. Despite a known beneficial influence of crude PO in cardiovascular disease and its many nutritional qualities and benefits [2,3], the presence of palmitic acid in palm oil is an argument to avoid palm oil consumption (see [4] for a review), on top of questions about the sustainability of its production [5]. Crude PO contains compounds such as carotenoids and tocopherols which may provide health benefits [1,6,7]. The evaluation of PO effects on health has mainly focused on blood lipids, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and type 2 diabetes, with mixed results [8,9]
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