Effects of a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet on blood cells of rats

Aim. To study the effects of a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet on erythrocytes and platelets of rats.Materials and methods. Male Wistar rats (n = 23) were used for the study. The rats were divided into a control group and an experimental group. The rats from the control group were fed with standard rat chow. The rats from the experimental group had received a high-fat and high-carbohydrate diet for 12 weeks. In the rats, body weight and blood pressure (BP) were measured, an oral glucose tolerance test was carried out, and hematological and lipid metabolism parameters were analyzed. The conductance of erythrocyte KCa-channels was measured by the potentiometric method, and platelet aggregation was determined by the turbidimetric method.Results. Feeding the rats with a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet for 12 weeks resulted in obesity, BP elevation, hyperglycemia, impaired glucose tolerance, and dyslipidemia with pronounced triglyceridemia. In the experimental group, a rise in the number of leukocytes, mainly due to granulocytes, and an increase in the number of platelets and their collagen-induced aggregation were observed. The red blood cell count in the rats of the experimental group did not significantly differ from that of the control group. In the experimental group, multidirectional changes in the membrane potential were observed in response to the stimulation of the KCa-channels in the erythrocyte membrane with the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 or artificial redox systems.Conclusion. The obtained data indicate that a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet leads to metabolic and hemorheological disorders that are typical of metabolic syndrome.

A high-carbohydrate diet prolongs dysbiosis and Clostridioides difficile carriage and increases late-onset CDI and mortality in a hamster model of infection

Studies using mouse models of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) have demonstrated a variety of relationships between dietary macronutrients on antibiotic-associated CDI; however, few of these effects have been examined in hamster models of CDI. In this study, we investigated the effect of a high-carbohydrate diet previously shown to protect mice from CDI on the progression and resolution of CDI in a hamster disease model. Hamsters fed the high-carbohydrate diet developed distinct diet-specific microbiomes during antibiotic treatment and CDI, with lower diversity, persistent C. difficile carriage, and delayed microbiome restoration. In contrast to 0% mortality in mice, 80% of hamsters fed the high-carbohydrate diet developed fulminant CDI and died, including several cases of late-onset CDI, whereas only 33% of hamsters fed a standard lab diet developed CDI only during the acute phase. We speculate that prolonged dysbiosis in these animals allowed C. difficile to proliferate following a three-day vancomycin course administered as part of this model system, leading to secondary CDI and eventual mortality. This study, along with similar studies in mouse models of CDI, suggests high-carbohydrate diets promote antibiotic-associated dysbiosis and long-term C. difficile carriage, which may convert to symptomatic CDI when conditions change.ImportanceThe effects of diet on CDI are not completely known, although most studies in mouse CDI models show that dietary carbohydrates ameliorate CDI. Here, we used a high-carbohydrate diet previously shown to protect mice against CDI to assess its effect on a hamster model of CDI and paradoxically found that it promoted dysbiosis, C. difficile carriage, and higher mortality. A common thread in both mouse and hamster experimental models was that the high-carbohydrate diet promoted long-term carriage of C. difficile, which may have converted to fulminant CDI only in the highly susceptible hamster model system. If diets high in carbohydrates also promote dysbiosis and C. difficile carriage in humans, then these diets might paradoxically increase chances of CDI relapse despite their protective effects against primary CDI.

Influence of high-protein and high-carbohydrate diets on serum lipid and fructosamine concentrations in healthy cats

Objectives The aim of this study was to determine whether high-protein and high-carbohydrate diets exert differential effects on serum cholesterol, triglyceride and fructosamine concentrations in healthy cats. Methods A randomised, crossover diet trial was performed in 35 healthy shelter cats. Following baseline health assessments, cats were randomised into groups receiving either a high-protein or high-carbohydrate diet for 4 weeks. The cats were then fed a washout diet for 4 weeks before being transitioned to whichever of the two studied diets they had not yet received. Fasting serum cholesterol, triglyceride and fructosamine concentrations were determined at the end of each 4-week diet period. Results Cats on the high-carbohydrate diet had significantly lower serum cholesterol ( P <0.001) concentrations compared with baseline measurements. Cats on the high-protein diet had significantly higher serum cholesterol ( P <0.001) and triglyceride ( P <0.001) concentrations, yet lower fructosamine ( P <0.001) concentrations compared with baseline measurements. In contrast, overweight cats (body condition score [BCS] >5) had lower cholesterol ( P = 0.007) and triglyceride ( P = 0.032) concentrations on the high-protein diet than cats within other BCS groups. Conclusions and relevance Diets higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates appear beneficial for short-term glucose control in healthy cats. A high-protein diet was associated with significantly elevated cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in healthy cats, even though the increase was significantly less pronounced in cats with a BCS >5. This finding suggests that overweight cats process high-protein diets, cholesterol and triglycerides differently than leaner cats.