A mix of dietary fermentable fibers improves lipids handling by the liver of overfed minipigs

Abstract Obesity induced by overfeeding ultimately can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, whereas dietary fiber consumption is known to have a beneficial effect. We aimed to determine if a supplementation of a mix of fibers (inulin, resistant starch and pectin) could limit or alleviate overfeeding-induced metabolic perturbations. Twenty female minipigs were fed with a control diet (C) or an enriched fat/sucrose diet supplemented (O + F) or not (O) with fibers. Between 0 and 56 days of overfeeding, insulin (+88%), HOMA (+102%), cholesterol (+45%) and lactate (+63%) were increased, without any beneficial effect of fibers supplementation. However, fibers supplementation limited body weight gain ( vs. O, −15% at D56) and the accumulation of hepatic lipids droplets induced by overfeeding. This could be explained by a decreased lipids transport potential (−50% FABP1 mRNA, O + F vs. O) inducing a down-regulation of regulatory elements of lipids metabolism / lipogenesis (−36% SREBP1c mRNA, O + F vs. O) but not to an increased oxidation (O + F not different from O and C for proteins and mRNA measured). Glucose metabolism was also differentially regulated by fibers supplementation, with an increased net hepatic release of glucose in the fasted state (diet × time effect, P vs. O, P =.09). The direct role of short chain fatty acids on gluconeogenesis stimulation is questioned, with probably a short-term impact (D14) but no effect on a long-term (D56) basis.