Evaluation of the beneficial effect of phenolic fractions, obtained by supercritical fractionation, from the jabuticaba's peel on obesity and gut microbiota

• Grant number: 17/21003-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 18, 2018
• End date: September 02, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition
• Principal Investigator: Mário Roberto Maróstica Junior
• Grantee: Helena Dias de Freitas Queiroz Barros
• Supervisor: Karsten Kristiansen
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/04231-8 - Supercritical fractionation of the phenolics present in the Jabuticaba peel (Plinia cauliflora) and evaluation of the digestibility and bioavailability, BP.DR

Abstract

Diet is considered an important factor for beneficial changes in the host's gut microbiota, protecting the integrity of the intestinal mucosa. Dysregulation of the microbiota is related to many diseases, including obesity. Bioactives from fruits have the potential to modulate the microbiota or microbial metabolism, thereby modulating host responses. Jabuticaba's peel has promising functional properties due to the high amount of phenolic compounds. However, so far no study has been able to determine 1) which specific compound(s) is (are) responsible for its bioactive properties, 2) to what extent compounds are metabolized by the gut microbiota, and 3) to what extent such metabolities and un-metabolized bioactive compounds are present in circulation. In addition, the molecular mechanisms associated with the systemic improvements elicited by the use of jabuticaba peel have not yet been established. This work aims to provide information on points 1-3, and subsequently based on the outcome of the first line on experiments to investigate the possible effects of fractions with different phenolic compositions obtained from the supercritical fractionation of jabuticaba peel or selected by text mining of available published literature and chemoinformatics analyses in treatment of obesity, as well as the influence on the gut microbiota of mice fed an energy dense obesogenic diet. C57BL/6 mice will be fed a high-fat diet and receive the selected fractions as a treatment. To analyze glucose metabolism, glucose and insulin tolerance tests will be performed. Energy intake and weight gain will be determined weekly. Body fat and lean mass will be evaluated using MRI at regular intervals. Analysis of gut microbiome will be performed to investigate the ability of the phenolic fraction to modulate the composition of the gut microbiota. (AU)