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We hypothesized that milk thistle seed or seed oil dietary supplementation reduces intestinal, liver and lipid disorders specific to genetic obesity, and the seeds can be more efficient in doing so. Lean and obese male Zucker rats were allocated to 4 groups: the lean (LC) and obese control (OC) groups fed a standard diet and the other 2 obese groups fed a diet supplemented with milk thistle seed oil (O + MTO) or milk thistle seeds (O + MTS). After 5 weeks of feeding, the cecal SCFA pool was slightly and significantly lower in OC and O + MTO compared with LC and O + MTS. The liver fat content was greater in OC, O + MTO and O + MTS compared with LC; however, it was significantly lower in O + MTS than in OC and O + MTO. The plasma cholesterol was greater in OC compared with LC, O + MTO and O + MTS; however, it was significantly greater in O + MTO and O + MTS compared with LC. The plasma bilirubin was detected in OC and O + MTO, whereas it was not present in LC and O + MTS. Milk thistle seeds can improve fermentation events in the distal intestine and reduce other disorders specific to genetically obese rats, and the seed PUFAs are responsible for that to a lesser extent.

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Different harvesting and preservation methods of Virginia fanpetals herbage were evaluated, based on the chemical composition and digestible organic matter (OM) content (D-value) of silage fed to adult sheep, the intake and digestibility of silage, and the performance of young cattle. The following harvesting methods were compared: direct-cut harvesting with a precision-cut forage harvester (DC), harvesting after field wilting with a precision-cut forage harvester (WC) or a round baler (WRB). The silage was fed for 81 days to 24 Polish Holstein Friesian (HF) bulls, as the sole forage supplemented with 3.0 kg of concentrate/head/day. Harvesting methods affected the density (p < 0.001) and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content (p = 0.047). Differences were found among the groups in the digestibility coefficients of OM (DC-73.7, WC-78.9, WRB-79.9%) (p = 0.007), and crude protein (CP) (69.8%, 77.1%, 78.5%, respectively) (p < 0.001). Dry matter intake (DMI) reached 8.38 kg (DC), 8.74 kg (WC) and 7.21 kg (WRB). Live weight gain (LWG) differed (p < 0.001) among groups (0.939, 1.033, 0.813 kg/day, respectively). The feed conversion ratio (FCR) tended to improve in WC (8.66 kg DMI/kg LWG) (p = 0.08). The highest-quality silage was produced in group WC, and it could be successfully fed to growing bulls as the sole forage.

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BACKGROUND: Hemp seeds are rich in PUFAs and other bioactives that can attenuate the development of obesity-related disorders; however, the extent to which their lipid fraction is responsible for this effect is unknown. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that hemp seed or hemp oil supplementation can attenuate genetically determined disorders and that the former are more effective in doing so. METHODS: Lean and obese male Zucker rats, aged 8 wk, weighing 174 ± 4.2 g and 223 ± 3.8 g, respectively, were allocated to 4 groups. The lean (LC) and obese controls (OC) were fed a standard diet, whereas the other 2 obese groups were fed a modified diet in which hemp oil (4% diet; O + HO) or hemp seeds (12% diet; O + HS) were included. All diets had the same proportions of protein (18%), fat (8%), and fiber (5%) and a similar carbohydrate proportion (∼52%). Diets fed to O + HO and O + HS had similar fatty acid profiles. After 4 wk, markers of gut and liver function, antioxidant status, and lipid metabolism were measured. RESULTS: The total SCFA concentration in the cecal digesta was lower in OC (64.8 ± 4.21 µmol/g) compared with LC (78.1 ± 2.83 µmol/g) (P ≤ 0.05), whereas it was greater in O + HS (89 ± 4.41 µmol/g) compared with LC, OC, and O + HO (69.7 ± 2.68 µmol/g) (P ≤ 0.05). Plasma total cholesterol was greater in OC (6.20 ± 0.198 mmol/L) and O + HO (5.60 ± 0.084 mmol/L) compared with LC (2.71 ± 0.094 mmol/L) (P ≤ 0.05); in O + HS, the concentration did not differ from the other groups (5.16 ± 0.278 mmol/L). The liver cholesterol concentration was greater in OC (1.79 ± 0.379 mg/g) compared with the other groups (1.28-1.43 mg/g) (P ≤ 0.05). Hepatic expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ was lower in OC (11.9 ± 0.93 units) compared with LC (17.3 ± 1.3 units) (P ≤ 0.05), whereas it was greater in O + HS (19.2 ± 1.04 units) compared with OC and O + HO (14.0 ± 1.33 units) (P ≤ 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Dietary hemp seeds more effectively attenuate metabolic disorders in genetically obese rats than the oil extracted from them, which suggests that the lipid fraction is only partly responsible for these effects.

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We hypothesize that defatting is an important factor that can determine the beneficial effects of flaxseeds on rats with diet-induced disorders. The experiment lasts 8 weeks and is conducted on Wistar rats allocated to four groups as follows: a control group fed with a standard diet; a high-fat (HF) group fed with a diet containing 21% fat and 0.1% cholic acid as a stimulator of lipid absorption; an HF group fed a diet supplemented with 1% native flaxseeds; and an HF group fed a diet supplemented with 1% defatted flaxseeds. In the HF group, several unfavourable changes in the gut and lipid metabolism are observed. Supplementation of the HF diet with native flaxseeds prevent an increase in colonic ß-glucuronidase activity, whereas dietary defatted flaxseeds increase mucosal disaccharidase activities in the small intestine (sucrose, maltase and lactase). Regardless of the form of supplementation, dietary flaxseeds increase bacterial glycolytic activity in the distal intestine and decrease hepatic fat, especially triglyceride, accumulation. Both flaxseed forms decrease lipid peroxidation in the kidneys and increase the blood HDL cholesterol concentration with the native form being more efficient in the former and the defatted form being more efficient in the latter. The lipid-modulating effects of defatted flaxseeds are associated with reduced hepatic expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α, which is not the case in terms of native flaxseeds. Dietary supplementation with a relatively small amount of flaxseeds can exert beneficial effects on gut functions and lipid metabolism in rats, and these effects are affected by defatting to some extent.

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Apple pomace includes seeds that are rich in protein, fiber, and oil, which can be extracted from them. However, they can also contain a significant amount of toxigenic amygdalin. We hypothesized that amygdalin is a compound that significantly reduces the nutritional and health quality of defatted apple seeds. An experiment was conducted on rats that were distributed into three groups and fed with high-fructose diets. In the control (C) and amygdalin (AMG) groups, cellulose and casein were the source of dietary fiber and protein, respectively; in the apple seed meal (ASM) group, dietary fiber and protein originated from the endosperm of apple seeds, which were previously defatted and ground. A diet fed to the ASM group also contained 0.24% of amygdalin from the meal, whereas the AMG diet was supplemented with the same amount of synthetic amygdalin. After 14 days of experimental feeding, the body weight of rats was decreased in the ASM group. When compared to the C group, apparent protein digestibility and nitrogen retention were increased in the AMG group, while both were decreased in the ASM group. In the small intestine, mucosal maltase activity was decreased in the AMG and ASM groups, whereas lactase activity was only decreased by dietary amygdalin. The caecal SCFA pool and butyrate concentration were significantly increased in the ASM group compared to the other groups. Moreover, the ASM diet increased plasma concentration of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and plasma antioxidant capacity of water-soluble substances (ACW). It also decreased the liver content of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). In contrast, dietary amygdalin did not affect these indices. Dietary supplementation with apple seed meal can exert beneficial effects on the intestinal tract, blood lipid profile and antioxidant status of rats. In most cases, these effects are not limited by the presence of amygdalin. However, the nutritional value of protein from apple seed meal is relatively low.

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