Tessem, Jeffery; Lloyd, Trevor; Brown, Nathan (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Tessem, Jeffery (Brigham Young University; Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science)
Diabetes is a global epidemic affecting millions of people. The total estimated cost of diabetes in the U.S. during 2017 was 327 billion dollars [1]. Diabetes is characterized by the loss of pancreatic β-cell function which is caused by an autoimmune disorder in Type 1 diabetes or insulin resistance and β-cell exhaustion in Type 2 (T2D) diabetes. Lifestyle changes in diet are beneficial in treating T2D. Phytochemicals are commonly utilized in these diets, and recent studies show diets high in flavanols exert beneficial bioactivity for β-cells. While flavanols demonstrate beneficial effects on β-cells, these flavanols are rarely observed in circulation, suggesting a necessary intermediate step. Flavanols are metabolized by gut bacteria to smaller metabolites that are absorbable. We hypothesize that these gut bacteria derived flavanol metabolites cross the gut and affect β-cell function. We have fed rats catechin supplemented or unsupplemented diets and collected urine as a means to isolate all absorbable gut flavanol metabolites. Here we present the effects of these absorbed metabolites on β-cell proliferation. This study begins to explain the mechanism by which flavanols exert their beneficial effect on glucose metabolism through the β-cell.