Obesity is currently one of the most serious public health problems and it can lead to numerous
metabolic diseases.
Leucrose, d-glucopyranosyl-α-(1-5)-d-fructopyranose, is an
isoform of
sucrose and it is naturally found in pollen and honey. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of
leucrose on metabolic changes induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) that lead to
obesity. C57BL/6 mice were fed a 60% HFD or a HFD with 25% (L25) or 50% (L50) of its total
sucrose content replaced with
leucrose for 12 weeks.
Leucrose supplementation improved fasting
blood glucose levels and hepatic
triglyceride content. In addition,
leucrose supplementation reduced
mRNA levels of lipogenesis-related genes, including
peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ,
sterol regulatory element binding protein 1C, and
fatty acid synthase in HFD mice. Conversely,
mRNA levels of β oxidation-related genes, such as
carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A and
acyl CoA oxidase, returned to control levels with
leucrose supplementation. Taken together, these results demonstrated the therapeutic potential of
leucrose to prevent metabolic abnormalities by mediating regulation of plasma
glucose level and hepatic
triglyceride accumulation.