Influence of dietary supplementation with dextrin or oligofructose on the hepatic redox balance in rats

We assessed the impact of oligofructose (OFS) and dextrin (DEX) as diet supplements on hepatic redox state. Rats were fed either a 10% OFS or a 10% DEX supplemented diet for 9 wk. In the DEX diet group, the levels of hepatic protein carbonylation were decreased by 63%. Total glutathione and reduced glutathione (GSH) contents were reduced in the OFS and DEX diet groups by around 20%. DEX supplementation significantly reduced oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels resulting in a 33% increase in the GSH/GSSG ratio. The activity of the hepatic antioxidant enzymes was not changed by either OFS or DEX supplementation. OFS supplementation caused a decrease in serum levels of triglycerides (36%), cholesterol (24%), HDL (16%) and LDL (17%). DEX supplementation only reduced triglycerides (32%) and urea (22%). Both diets increased serum levels of acetate by fivefold and propionate by twofold, but DEX diet decreased butyrate levels by 75%. Due to their different composition/structure these two dietary fibers affected metabolism in different ways. Diet supplementation with 10% DEX can potentially improve host health, by protecting the liver from protein carbonylation and by improving GSH/GSSG ratio and diet supplementation with 10% OFS can improve the lipid profile.