Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUTRITION
Volume 56, Issue 1, Pages 133-150Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00394-015-1064-1
Keywords
Tocotrienols; Tocopherols; Cardiovascular; Anti-inflammatory; Metabolic syndrome; Obesity
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Funding
- Strategic Research Fund of the University of Southern Queensland
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This study tested the hypothesis that gamma- and delta-tocotrienols are more effective than alpha-tocotrienol and alpha-tocopherol in attenuating the signs of diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats. Five groups of rats were fed a corn starch-rich (C) diet containing 68 % carbohydrates as polysaccharides, while the other five groups were fed a diet (H) high in simple carbohydrates (fructose and sucrose in food, 25 % fructose in drinking water, total 68 %) and fats (beef tallow, total 24 %) for 16 weeks. Separate groups from each diet were supplemented with either alpha-, gamma-, delta-tocotrienol or alpha-tocopherol (85 mg/kg/day) for the final 8 of the 16 weeks. H rats developed visceral obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, cardiovascular remodelling and fatty liver. alpha-Tocopherol, alpha-, gamma- and delta-tocotrienols reduced collagen deposition and inflammatory cell infiltration in the heart. Only gamma- and delta-tocotrienols improved cardiovascular function and normalised systolic blood pressure compared to H rats. Further, delta-tocotrienol improved glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, lipid profile and abdominal adiposity. In the liver, these interventions reduced lipid accumulation, inflammatory infiltrates and plasma liver enzyme activities. Tocotrienols were measured in heart, liver and adipose tissue showing that chronic oral dosage delivered tocotrienols to these organs despite low or no detection of tocotrienols in plasma. In rats, delta-tocotrienol improved inflammation, heart structure and function, and liver structure and function, while gamma-tocotrienol produced more modest improvements, with minimal changes with alpha-tocotrienol and alpha-tocopherol. The most important mechanism of action is likely to be reduction in organ inflammation.
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