High-fat diets and intestinal microbiota: Impact of fatty acid quality

• Grant number: 23/13670-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition - Nutrition Biochemistry
• Principal Investigator: Nágila Raquel Teixeira Damasceno
• Grantee: Letícia Atademos de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Nutrition plays an extremely important role in the incidence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which remain the leading cause of mortality in Brazil and worldwide. The impact of lipid consumption on these diseases depends not only on quantitative aspects but, above all, on their quality. Classic research on cardiovascular diseases demonstrates the importance of replacing different polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as omega-3 (É-3) in their prevention. Among other resulting mechanisms, this change would be responsible for modulating the composition of the intestinal microbiota, whose low diversity has been associated with the pathophysiology of various NCDs. Therefore, this study aims to assess the impact of the quality of fatty acids in high-fat diets on the composition of the intestinal microbiota. To this end, an experimental model will be conducted, consisting of eighteen Wistar P40 rats, equally divided into 3 groups: the control group (1) will receive a standard diet, the HSD group (2), a high-fat diet (HF) rich in saturated fatty acids, and the HPO3 group (3), HF rich in PUFAs, especially omega-3. During the 75-day intervention, weight, length, food and water consumption will be monitored, and feces and blood samples will be collected. Subsequently, microbiota analysis will be performed using the 16S method, and fatty acids in erythrocyte membranes will be determined. Finally, statistical analyses will be applied to establish relationships between the observed variables.