Limited beneficial effects of piceatannol supplementation on obesity complications in the obese Zucker rat: gut microbiota, metabolic, endocrine, and cardiac aspects

Resveratrol is beneficial in obese and diabetic rodents. However, its low bioavailability raises questions about its therapeutic relevance for treating or preventing obesity complications. In this context, many related natural polyphenols are being tested for their putative antidiabetic and anti-obesity effects. This prompted us to study the influence of piceatannol, a polyhydroxylated stilbene, on the prevention of obesity complications in Zucker obese rats. A 6-week supplementation was followed by the determination of various markers in plasma, liver, adipose tissue and heart, together with a large-scale analysis of gut microbiota composition. When given in doses of 15 or 45 mg/kg body weight/day, piceatannol did not reduce either hyperphagia or fat accumulation. It did not modify the profusion of the most abundant phyla in gut, though slight changes were observed in the abundance of several Lactobacillus, Clostridium, and Bacteroides species belonging to Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. This was accompanied by a tendency to reduce plasma lipopolysaccharides by 30 %, and by a decrease of circulating non-esterified fatty acids, LDL-cholesterol, and lactate. While piceatannol tended to improve lipid handling, it did not mitigate hyperinsulinemia and cardiac hypertrophy. However, it increased cardiac expression of ephrin-B1, a membrane protein that contributes to maintaining cardiomyocyte architecture. Lastly, ascorbyl radical plasma levels and hydrogen peroxide release by adipose tissue were similar in control and treated groups. Thus, piceatannol did not exhibit strong slimming capacities but did limit several obesity complications (AU)

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Gut microbiota: a key player in health and disease. A review focused on obesity

Gut microbiota, its evolutive dynamics and influence on host through its protective, trophic and metabolic actions, has a key role in health and opens unique opportunities for the identification of new markers of the physiopathological state of each individual. Alterations in gut microbiota composition have been associated with plenty disorders. Of interest, the vast number of studies demonstrates the role of microbiota in obesity, a serious public health problem that has reached epidemic proportions in many developed and middle-income countries. The economic and health costs of this condition and its comorbidities such as fatty liver, insulin resistance/diabetes, or cardiovascular events are considerable. Therefore, every strategy designed to reduce obesity would imply important savings. Targeting microbiota, in order to restore/modulate the microbiota composition with antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, or even fecal transplants, is considered as a promising strategy for the development of new solutions for the treatment of obesity. However, there is still lot to do in this field in order to identify the exact composition of microbiota in “health” and the specific mechanisms that regulate the host-microbiotal crosstalk. In addition, it is important to note that changes not only in the gut microbiota profile (abundance) but also in its metabolism and functions need to be taken into account in the context of contribution in the physiopathology of obesity and related disorders