O efeito da suplementação crônica de nitrato inorgânico concomitante a uma dieta hiperlipídica em modelo de obesidade animal

Abstract

Obesity is a disease that has been gaining attention in scientific research, considering that it is a risk factor for the development of other comorbidities. With increasing consumption of hyperlipidic diets, obesity has reached pandemic proportions in modern society. Inorganic nitrate has gained prominence through an alternative route of nitric oxide release, indispensable under conditions in which the endogenous pathway is compromised by the effects of obesity. Thus, in order to understand the role of nitrate in important signaling pathways we used a model of animal obesity induced by a hyperlipid diet with nitrate administration in the water during thirteen experimental weeks. Nitrate did not alter body weight and adiposity, caloric and water intake, total cholesterol and triglycerides, but increased HDL-c levels and reduced total lipids in the liver. In addition, nitrate increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the liver and gastrocnemius muscle while reduced oxidative damage (TBARS and protein carbonylation) in these tissues. In adipose tissue, although no changes in the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines have been observed, nitrate increased IL-10 levels and reduced adipocyte hypertrophy caused by the hyperlipidic diet.