Master in Engineering for the Energetic Sustainability, Universidad Intercultural Indígena de Michoacán, Campus Tzipekua, Pátzcuaro 61614, Mexico.
Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Michoacán, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Morelia 58330, Mexico.
Nutrients. 2024 Jun 24;16(13):2001. doi: 10.3390/nu16132001.
Undernutrition (UN) increases child vulnerability to illness and mortality. Caused by a low amount and/or poor quality of food intake, it impacts physical, cognitive, and social development. Modern types of food consumption have given highly processed food a higher cultural value compared to minimally processed food.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect on growth, metabolism, physical activity (PA), memory, inflammation, and toxicity of an enriched black corn chip (BC) made with endemic ingredients on post-weaned UN mice.
A chip was made with a mixture of black corn, fava beans, amaranth, and nopal cactus. To probe the effects of UN, UN was induced in 3wo post-weaned male C57Bl/6j mice through a low-protein diet (LPD-50% of the regular requirement of protein) for 3w. Then, the BC was introduced to the animals' diet (17%) for 5w; murinometric parameters were measured, as were postprandial glucose response, PA, and short-term memory. Histological analysis was conducted on the liver and kidneys to measure toxicity. Gene expression related to energy balance, thermogenesis, and inflammation was measured in adipose and hypothalamic tissues.
Treatment with the BC significantly improved mouse growth, even with a low protein intake, as evidenced by a significant increase in body weight, tail length, cerebral growth, memory improvement, physical activation, normalized energy expenditure (thermogenesis), and orexigenic peptides (AGRP and NPY). It decreased anorexigenic peptides (POMC), and there was no tissue toxicity.
BC treatment, even with persistent low protein intake, is a promising strategy against UN, as it showed efficacy in correcting growth deficiency, cognitive impairment, and metabolic problems linked to treatment by adjusting energy expenditure, which led to the promotion of energy intake and regulation of thermogenesis, all by using low-cost, accessible, and endemic ingredients.
营养不良（UN）会增加儿童患病和死亡的脆弱性。由食物摄入数量和/或质量低引起，它会影响身体、认知和社会发展。现代类型的食物消费使高度加工食品相对于最低限度加工食品具有更高的文化价值。
本研究的目的是评估用富含内地产物的黑玉米片（BC）喂养断奶后 UN 小鼠对生长、代谢、体力活动（PA）、记忆、炎症和毒性的影响。
用黑玉米、蚕豆、苋菜和龙舌兰仙人掌制作了一种玉米片。为了探测 UN 的影响，在 3wo 断奶后的雄性 C57Bl/6j 小鼠中通过低蛋白饮食（LPD-50%的蛋白质常规需求）诱导 UN 3w。然后，将 BC 引入动物饮食（17%）5w；测量鼠体参数、餐后血糖反应、PA 和短期记忆。对肝脏和肾脏进行组织学分析以测量毒性。测量脂肪和下丘脑组织中与能量平衡、产热和炎症相关的基因表达。
用 BC 治疗显著改善了小鼠的生长，即使在低蛋白摄入的情况下也是如此，这表现为体重、尾巴长度、大脑生长、记忆改善、体力活动增加、能量消耗（产热）正常化和食欲肽（AGRP 和 NPY）增加。它减少了厌食肽（POMC），并且没有组织毒性。
即使持续低蛋白摄入，BC 治疗也是一种对抗 UN 的有前途的策略，因为它通过调整能量消耗来纠正生长缺陷、认知障碍和与治疗相关的代谢问题，从而促进能量摄入和调节产热，所有这些都使用低成本、可及和内地产物。
