Nutrition
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Red pepper and soybeans have been reported to modulate energy and glucose metabolism. However, the antidiabetic effect of kochujang, the fermented product of red pepper plus soybeans, has not been studied. We examined whether kochujang affected insulin secretion from beta-cells and/or peripheral insulin resistance in 90% pancreatectomized diabetic rats fed high-fat diets. ⋯ The combination of red pepper and fermented soybeans in kochujang improves glucose homeostasis by reducing insulin resistance, not by enhancing beta-cell function, in diabetic rats. The improvement is associated with decreased hepatic fat storage by the activation of adenosine monophosphate kinase.
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The present study evaluated the effect of nutritional recovery with a soybean diet on the gene and protein expressions and protein phosphorylation of several enzymes and transcription factors involved in hepatic lipid metabolism. ⋯ Thus, the soybean diet reduced the liver lipid concentration through downregulation of the ACC gene and protein expressions rather than by phosphorylation status, which possibly resulted in decreased lipogenesis and increased beta-oxidation.