short chain fatty acids tagged posts

Agave tequilana

Apart from being the raw material for making a very traditional drink in Mexico, the blue variety of the Agave tequilana has substances capable of improving the absorption of calcium and magnesium, essential minerals to maintain bone health. This has been demonstrated by research conducted at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (Cinvestav) in center Mexico. Dr. Mercedes López states that “the consumption of fructans contained in the agave, in collaboration with adequate intestinal micriobiota, promotes the formation of new bone, even with the presence of osteoporosis.”

To reach this conclusion, the research team conducted various experiments with animal models. The procedure consisted of removing the ovaries from female mice in order to induce osteoporosis...

A new study highlights the importance of the gut microbiome in maintaining intestinal and metabolic health and suggests that eating more foods high in soluble fiber may help prevent metabolic disease and obesity.

Eating too much high-fat, high-calorie food is considered the primary cause of obesity and obesity-related disease, including diabetes. While the excess calories consumed are a direct cause of the fat accumulation, scientists suspect that low-grade inflammation due to an altered gut microbiome may also be involved. A new study finds in mice that a diet missing soluble fiber promotes inflammation in the intestines and poor gut health, leading to weight gain. Moreover, incorporating soluble fiber back into the diet can restore gut health.

Georgia State University team examined...

A pancreatic islet of Langerhans expressing the immunoregulator antimicrobial peptide CRAM (in red). The insulin-producting beta-cells are in green and the glucagon-producting alpha-cells are in blue. Credit: © Julien Diana

A category of antimicrobial peptides, cathelicidins and being researched by a team coordinated by Julien Diana, Inserm Research Fellow at Inserm Unit 1151 is focusing on. Apart from their protective function, these peptides have also exhibited immunoregulatory abilities against several autoimmune diseases.

They observed that beta pancreatic cells in non-diseased mice produce cathelicidins and that, interestingly, this production is impaired in diabetic mice...