Sesame defatted flour: antioxidant response and improvement in carbohydrate metabolism in high-fructose/high-saturated fatty acids diet-fed mice

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with defatted sesame seeds on a diet with low nutritional quality (high-fructose and high proportion of saturated fatty acids), in terms of the redox state and carbohydrate metabolism. C57BL/6 male mice were fed for 12 weeks with Control (C), Low Nutritional Quality (LNQ), or supplemented with sesame defatted flour (LNQ + S) diets. Levels of glucose, lactate, reactive oxygen species, antioxidant enzyme activity, reduced glutathione, and protein oxidation (AOPP) were determined. Overall, LNQ increased liver glucose (+ 20%), lactate (+ 60%) and AOPP (+15%) with respect to C, and modulated the enzymatic and non-enzymatic endogenous antioxidants. However, sesame supplementation restored glucose and lactate levels to those of C group and modulated the endogenous antioxidant systems, contributing to a reduction in oxidative damage in proteins. In conclusion, supplementation with sesame showed beneficial effects in mice fed a low nutritional quality diet.