CD Obesity-Prone Rats, but not Obesity-Resistant Rats, Robustly Ferment Resistant Starch Without Increased Weight or Fat Accretion

© 2018 The Obesity Society Objective: This study used CD obesity-prone (OP) and obesity-resistant (OR) rats to examine how weight gain and fat accretion relate to fermentation levels and microbiota composition after feeding resistant starch (RS). Methods: After feeding OP rats and OR rats a high-fat (HF) diet for 4 weeks, rats were stratified into three groups: they were fed either an HF diet (group 1: HF-HF) or were switched to a low-fat (LF) diet (group 2: HF-LF) or an LF diet supplemented with 20% RS by weight for 4 weeks (group 3: HF-LFRS). Energy intake, body weight, fermentation variables, and microbiota composition were determined. Results: In OP rats, RS elicited robust fermentation (increased cecal contents, short-chain fatty acids, and serum glucagon-like peptide 1). Total bacteria, species of the Bacteroidales family S24-7, and the archaean Methanobrevibacter smithii increased. The robust fermentation did not elicit higher weight or fat accretion when compared with that of control rats fed the same isocaloric diets (HF-LF ± RS). In OR rats, body weight and fat accretion were also not different between HF-LF ± RS diets, but RS elicited minimal changes in fermentation and microbiota composition. Conclusions: Robust fermentation did not contribute to greater weight. Fermentation levels and changes in microbiota composition in response to dietary RS differed by obesity phenotype