Chemometric Evaluation of RI-Induced Phytochemicals in Phaseolus vulgaris Seeds Indicate an Improvement on Liver Enzymes in Obese Rats.

Liver enzymes alterations (activity or quantity increase) have been recognized as biomarkers of obesity-related abnormal liver function. The intake of healthy foods can improve the activity of enzymes like aspartate and alanine aminotransferases (AST, ALT), γ-glutaminyl transferase (GGT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Beans have a high concentration of several phytochemicals; however, Restriction Irrigation (RI) during plant development amends their synthesis. Using chemometric tools, we evaluated the capacity of RI-induced phytochemicals to ameliorate the high activity of liver enzymes in obese rats. The rats were induced with a high-fat diet for 4 months, subsequently fed with 20% cooked beans from well-watered plants (100/100), or from plants subjected to RI at the vegetative or reproduction stage (50/100, 100/50), or during the whole cycle (50/50) for 3 months. A partial least square discriminant analysis indicated that mostly flavonols have a significant association with serum AST and ALT activity, while isoflavones lowered GGT and ALP. For AST and ALT activity in the liver, saponins remained significant for hepatocellular protection and flavonoids remained significant as hepatobiliary protectants by lowering GGT and ALP. A principal component analysis demonstrated that several flavonoids differentiated 100/50 treatment from the rest, while some saponins were correlated to 50/100 and 50/50 treatments. The intake of beans cultivated under RI improves obesity-impaired liver alterations.

Common Bean Seeds Obtained by Plant Water Restriction Ameliorates Obesity-Associated Cardiovascular Risk and Insulin Resistance.

The inclusion of beans in the diet has been recommended for obesity control. However, its beneficial effect varies depending on agroclimatic factors acting during plant development. The antiobesogenic capacity of Dalia bean (DB) seeds obtained by water restriction (WR) during the vegetative or reproductive stage of plant growth (50/100 and 100/50% of soil moisture in vegetative/reproductive stage, respectively), during the whole cycle (50/50), and well-watered plants (100/100) was researched. After phytochemical characterization, harvested beans from each experimental unit were pooled among treatments, based on a multivariate canonical discriminant analysis considering concentration of non-digestible carbohydrates (total, soluble and insoluble dietary fiber and resistant starch), phenolic compounds (total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins and condensed tannins) and total saponins, which showed no differences among replicas of each treatment. Obesity was induced in rats (UAZ-2015-36851) with a high fat diet (HFD) for four months. Afterwards, rats were fed with the HFD supplemented with 20% of cooked DB for three months. During treatment, 100/50 beans, improved blood triglycerides, cholesterol, and glucose, and alleviated early insulin resistance (IR) related to inhibition of lipase, α-amylase and -glucosidase activity. After sacrifice, a hypolipidemic capacity and atherogenic risk reduction was observed, especially from the 100/50 treatment, suggesting that intake of DB obtained from WR may prevent IR and dyslipidemia.