Objective: This study evaluated the effect of a protein, the isolated Trypsin Inhibitor (TTI) from Tamarindus indica L. seed, as a CCK secretagogue and its action upon food intake and leptin in obese Wistar rats.
Methods: Three groups of obese rats were fed 10 days one of the following diets: Standard diet (Labina®) + water; High Glycemic Index and Load (HGLI) diet + water or HGLI diet + TTI. Lean animals were fed the standard diet for the 10 days. Food intake, zoometric measurements, plasma CCK, plasma leptin, relative mRNA expression of intestinal CCK-related genes, and expression of the ob gene in subcutaneous adipose tissue were assessed.
Results: TTI decreased food intake but did not increase plasma CCK in obese animals. On the other hand, TTI treatment decreased CCK-1R gene expression in obese animals compared with the obese group with no treatment (p = 0.027). Obese animals treated with TTI presented lower plasma leptin than the non-treated obese animals.
Conclusion: We suggest that TTI by decreasing plasma leptin may improve CCK action, regardless of its increase in plasma from obese rats, since food intake was lowest.
Keywords: CCK-2R gene; Cholecystokinin; PCSK1 gene; Pre-Pro-CCK gene; Tamarindus indica L.; ob gene.
© 2018 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.