Preventive effect of silk protein, sericin, on metabolic syndrome

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This study was performed to examine the effect of dietary sericin on the lipid and carbohydrate metabolisms in rats fed high-fat diet. Consumption of sericin significantly reduced serum and liver lipids and the activities of the lipogenic enzymes. Dietary sericin suppressed the increases in plasma glucose and insulin levels after intraperitoneal glucose injection. Dietary sericin caused a marked elevation in serum adiponectin. These results imply that the increase in serum adiponectin by sericin intake may, at least in part, contribute to the protective effect against hyperlipidemia, fatty liver and glucose intolerance in rats fed a high-fat diet. Consumption of sericin markedly elevated fecal immunoglobulin A (IgA, index of intestinal immune function), mucins (index of intestinal barrier function) and cecal organic aicds in rats fed the high-fat diet. There was an inverse correlation between serum triglyceride and cecal acetate. These results imply that sericin is a useful agent for improving lipid and carbohydrate metabolisms and intestinal luminal environments in rats fed a high-fat diet.