White Kidney Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) Consumption Reduces Fat Accumulation in a Polygenic Mouse Model of Obesity.

Elizabeth S Neil,Michelle T Foster,Henry J Thompson,Corey A Lauck,Vanessa K Fitzgerald,Jeremy A Tabke,Madyson R Streeter-Mcdonald,Tiffany L Weir,Linxing Yao,Corey D Broeckling,John N Mcginley

doi:10.3390/nu11112780

Abstract

Clinical studies indicate that eating common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L., plays a role in body weight regulation but mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the anti-obesogenic activity of white kidney bean in a mouse model of dietary-induced obesity. Bean consumption reduced the accumulation of adipose tissue in male and female C57BL6 mice. The anti-obesogenic effect of white kidney bean was not due to alterations in energy intake, energy excreted in the feces, or feed efficiency ratio. While bean consumption increased the mass of the intestine, no marked differences were consistently observed in crypt height, mucin content of goblet cells, proliferation index or zone of proliferation. However, significantly higher concentrations of total bacteria and of Akkermansia muciniphila were detected in cecal content of bean-fed mice, and the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes was reduced. Bile acid content was higher in the ileum of bean-fed mice, but transcript levels of farnesoid X receptor were not significantly affected. Whether changes in bile-acid-mediated cell signaling play a role in bean-related differences in fat accumulation and/or overall metabolic health requires further investigation.

Highlights

The global pandemic of obesity is associated with increased incidence of and mortality due to cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer [1,2]
White kidney bean incorporated into the high-fat diet, reduced obesity susceptibility
The work reported was designed to determine whether white kidney bean consumption would reduce body fat mass in a widely used polygenic model of obesity in C57BL6 mice (B6) as it did in the Levin rat model of polygenic obesity [8]

Summary

Introduction

The global pandemic of obesity is associated with increased incidence of and mortality due to cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer [1,2]. Nutrients 2019, 11, 2780 determine whether the impact of pulses on body weight observed in prospective clinical studies could be reproduced under the controlled conditions that are possible to achieve with the use of preclinical rodent models [8]. We utilized common bean, the predominant pulse consumed in clinical studies, in our initial rodent investigations in rats [6,7]. In those models, white kidney bean, a specific type of common bean, markedly reduced visceral adiposity in female rats resistant and susceptible to dietary-induced obesity [8]

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Conclusion