Vitamin C Deficiency May Delay Diet-Induced NASH Regression in the Guinea Pig

Oxidative stress is directly linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the progression to steaotohepatitis (NASH). Thus, a beneficial role of antioxidants in delaying disease progression and/or accelerating recovery may be expected, as corroborated by recommendations of, e.g., vitamin E supplementation to patients. This study investigated the effect of vitamin C deficiency—often resulting from poor diets low in fruits and vegetables and high in fat—combined with/without a change to a low fat diet on NAFLD/NASH phenotype and hepatic transcriptome in the guinea pig NASH model. Vitamin C deficiency per se did not accelerate disease induction. However, the results showed an effect of the diet change on the resolution of hepatic histopathological hallmarks (steatosis, inflammation, and ballooning) (p < 0.05 or less) and indicated a positive effect of a high vitamin C intake when combined with a low fat diet. Our data show that a diet change is important in NASH regression and suggest that a poor vitamin C status delays the reversion towards a healthy hepatic transcriptome and phenotype. In conclusion, the findings support a beneficial role of adequate vitamin C intake in the regression of NASH and may indicate that vitamin C supplementation in addition to lifestyle modifications could accelerate recovery in NASH patients with poor vitamin C status.

Stress-Related Herpesvirus Reactivation in Badgers Can Result in Clostridium Proliferation

Clostridium perfringens is an important food-borne zoonotic pathogen and a member of the commensal gut microbiome of many mammals. Predisposing factors such as coinfection with other pathogens or diet change can, however, cause overgrowth and subsequent disease development. Here we investigated the occurrence of C. perfringens in a free-ranging badger population with up to 100% prevalence of herpesvirus infection. Herpesvirus reactivation is known to be associated with increased susceptibility bacterial infections. PCR screening of rectal swabs from 69 free-ranging badgers revealed 15.9% (11/69, 95% CI = 9.1–26.3%) prevalence of detectable C. perfringens (Type A) DNA in the digestive tracts of assymptomatic animals. The results of Fisher’s exact test revealed C. perfringens detection was not biased by age, sex and seasons. However, badgers with genital tract gammaherpesvirus (MusGHV-1) reactivation (p = 0.007) and infection with a specific MusGHV-1 genotype (p = 0.019) were more prone to of C. perfringens proliferation, indicating coinfection biased dynamics of intestinal C. perfringens. An inclusion pattern analysis further indicated that, causally, MusGHV-1 reactivation potentiated C. perfringens detection. Whether or not specific MusGHV-1 genotype infection or reactivation plays a role in C. perfringens overgrowth or disease development in badgers will require further investigation. Nevertheless, a postmortem examination of a single badger that died of fatal disease, likely associated with C. perfringens, revealed MusGHV-1 detection in the small intestine.

PSX-B-20 Effect of shifting from forage to high grain diet on chewing, feed sorting and lying behavior of cows supplemented with or without a phytogenic additive

The aim was to evaluate the effect of changing from forage to a high grain diet on chewing, feed sorting and lying behavior of cows supplemented with or without a phytogenic feed additive. Nine cows were blocked in two groups and used in a change-over design. Each experimental run consisted of one week of forage feeding, one week of diet transition, and four weeks of high grain feeding (65% concentrate). During the washout period of 10 weeks between the two runs, cows grazed on pasture. Cows were fed either a control diet (CON) or a diet with a phytogenic additive (PHY) based on menthol, thymol and eugenol. Data on chewing, feed sorting and lying behavior were analyzed using SAS with week of feeding and supplementation as fixed effects, and cow as random effect. Data across weeks from the same cow were processed using a first order variance-covariance structure matrix taking into account that the covariance decays with time. We found a reduction (P &lt; 0.01) in rumination time by 53% with diet change. Within the high grain feeding, rumination reached lowest value in the second week (160 min/d). The high grain diet increased (P &lt; 0.01) selection for long size particles by 20%. Although lying time was not affected immediately after diet change, it increased (P &lt; 0.01) by 8% from the second week of high grain consumption. In the fourth week of grain feeding, there was a tendency for PHY to increase rumination (P = 0.07) and total chewing time (P = 0.10), but with no effect on sorting for fiber or lying time. The high grain diet decreased chewing and standing time, and increased sorting for fibrous ingredients especially after one week of feeding. The phytogenic feed additive may contribute to stimulate chewing in long term supplementation.

Comparing texture and digestion properties between white and brown rice of indica cultivars preferred by Chinese consumers

The consumption of good tasting rice, mainly soft-textured white rice with low amylose content, has substantially increased in China as living standards improve. However, this diet change may increase the risk of developing type II diabetes because the soft-textured white rice is generally less resistant to digestion and has a higher glycemic index. In contrast, intake of brown rice is inversely associated with type II diabetes risk. This study was conducted to test the possibility that brown rice processed from soft-textured cultivars has both acceptable texture and improved health benefits. Texture and digestion properties were compared between white and brown rice of five indica cultivars preferred by Chinese consumers. Mean hardness was 33% higher while mean springiness was 5% lower for cooked brown rice than for cooked white rice. As compared to cooked white rice, cooked brown rice had a 41% longer mean active digestion duration but 31% lower mean glucose production rate and 11% lower mean total glucose production from starch digestion. However, the differences in texture and starch digestion properties between cooked brown and white rice were affected by cultivar identity. Brown rice processed from suitable cultivars with both a relatively thinner bran layer and relatively higher grain amylose content met consumer requirements in terms of acceptable texture and improved health benefits.

The Effect of Dietary Interventions on Chronic Inflammatory Diseases in Relation to the Microbiome: A Systematic Review

Chronic inflammation plays a central role in the pathophysiology of various non-communicable diseases. Dietary interventions can reduce inflammation, in part due to their effect on the gut microbiome. This systematic review aims to determine the effect of dietary interventions, specifically fiber intake, on chronic inflammatory diseases and the microbiome. It aims to form hypotheses on the potential mediating effects of the microbiome on disease outcomes after dietary changes. Included were clinical trials which performed a dietary intervention with a whole diet change or fiber supplement (>5 g/day) and investigated the gut microbiome in patients diagnosed with chronic inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and autoimmune diseases (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)). The 30 articles which met the inclusion criteria had an overall moderate to high risk of bias and were too heterogeneous to perform a meta-analysis. Dietary interventions were stratified based on fiber intake: low fiber, high fiber, and supplemental fiber. Overall, but most pronounced in patients with T2DM, high-fiber plant-based dietary interventions were consistently more effective at reducing disease-specific outcomes and pathogenic bacteria, as well as increasing microbiome alpha diversity and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria, compared to other diets and fiber supplements.

Resilience of Faecal Microbiota in Stabled Thoroughbred Horses Following Abrupt Dietary Transition between Freshly Cut Pasture and Three Forage-Based Diets

The management of competition horses in New Zealand often involves rotations of short periods of stall confinement and concentrate feeding, with periods of time at pasture. Under these systems, horses may undergo abrupt dietary changes, with the incorporation of grains or concentrate feeds to the diet to meet performance needs, or sudden changes in the type of forage fed in response to a lack of fresh or conserved forage. Abrupt changes in dietary management are a risk factor for gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances, potentially due to the negative effects observed on the population of GI microbiota. In the present study, the faecal microbiota of horses was investigated to determine how quickly the bacterial communities; (1) responded to dietary change, and (2) stabilised following abrupt dietary transition. Six Thoroughbred mares were stabled for six weeks, consuming freshly cut pasture (weeks 1, 3 and 5), before being abruptly transitioned to conserved forage-based diets, both offered ad libitum. Intestinal markers were administered to measure digesta transit time immediately before each diet change. The conserved forage-based diets were fed according to a 3 × 3 Latin square design (weeks 2, 4 and 6), and comprised a chopped ensiled forage fed exclusively (Diet FE) or with whole oats (Diet FE + O), and perennial ryegrass hay fed with whole oats (Diet H + O). Faecal samples were collected at regular intervals from each horse following the diet changes. High throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to evaluate the faecal microbiota. There were significant differences in alpha diversity across diets (p < 0.001), and a significant effect of diet on the beta diversity (ANOSIM, p = 0.001), with clustering of samples observed by diet group. There were differences in the bacterial phyla across diets (p < 0.003), with the highest relative abundances observed for Firmicutes (62–64%) in the two diets containing chopped ensiled forage, Bacteroidetes (32–38%) in the pasture diets, and Spirochaetes (17%) in the diet containing hay. Major changes in relative abundances of faecal bacteria appeared to correspond with the cumulative percentage of intestinal markers retrieved in the faeces as the increasing amounts of digesta from each new diet transited the animals. A stable faecal microbiota profile was observed in the samples from 96 h after abrupt transition to the treatment diets containing ensiled chopped forage. The present study confirmed that the diversity and community structure of the faecal bacteria in horses is diet-specific and resilient following dietary transition and emphasised the need to have modern horse feeding management that reflects the ecological niche, particularly by incorporating large proportions of forage into equine diets.

Robust host source tracking building on the divergent and non-stochastic assembly of gut microbiome in wild and farmed large yellow croaker

BackgroundRevealing the potential divergence of gut microbiome between farmed and wild fishes, and its underlying mechanism are informative to improve its mariculture, as well as establish the molecular marker of host source tracking, which is an alternative to the yet-to-be-established host genetic marker. A candidate for testing the feasibility is the large yellow croaker, Larimichthys crocea , which is carnivorous and ranking the top maricultural fish in China with depleted wild resource and frequently farmed individuals escaping and fry releasing for wild stock enhancement. ResultsThe rectums of wild (n=212) and farmed (n=79) individuals from multiple batches were collected for the profiling of gut bacterial communities. The farmed individuals had a higher alpha diversity and lower bacterial loading than the wild individuals. The gut microbiota of the two sources exhibited divergence and high inter-batch variation, featured by the dominance of Psychrobacter spp. in the wild group. Predicted function of gut microbiome and representative isolates suggested that diet could be a key factor for the divergence, which was linked to the high ratio and diverse source of carbohydrate in formulated feed and low pH of rectum contents in farmed fishes. The non-stochastic distribution patterns of the core gut microbiota of the wild and farmed individuals indicated the feasibility of microbiota-based host source tracking through machine learning algorithm. Random forest classifier building on the divergence and non-stochastic assembly of gut microbiome was robust in host source tracking for individuals from all batches including a newly introduced batch. ConclusionsOur study revealed the divergence of the gut microbiota between wild and farmed croakers and suggested that diet change is an underlying key factor for the divergence. As the first time, we verified that with less biased datasets and non-stochastic pattern, gut microbiota can be robustly applied to the tracking of host source even in carnivorous fish.

The Christian-Orthodox teaching about fasting in St. John Chrysostom’s work

Attempting to present the teaching of St. John Chrysostom about fasting, we must specify from the very beginning that this holy father does not ascribe the fasting a medical and culinary meaning, in the sense of diet change or variation of foods, but a spiritual meaning. In the spiritual sense, fasting is not a mere moral exercise of willpower and control of the physical passions and urges, but a freely accepted sacrifice out of love and respect to God. The man who loves God is happy to offer Him this sacrifice, which consists of renouncing food, drink and amusement, games, and, first and foremost sin. Such a believer does not darken his face but maintains his good mood, showing people the joy emerging from fasting, because naturally, anyone feels joy when he makes an act of charity and sacrifice for the person he loves, for God who is love (I John, IV, 16). And the sacrifice from love is discrete, it wants to remain unknown to others. This sacrifice for God is a fountain of indescribable gifts for each faster. Fasting is the abstinence of all urges, all senses, all physical impulses so that you can hear God, so you can feel God in your heart. This is fasting according to St. John Chrysostom: a process of purification of body and soul, so that God may dwell in our being. Fasting is the discipline that makes the life of Christ blossom within us.