The Impact of Tempol on Gut Microbial Fermentation and Short-chain Fatty Acid
Open Access
- Author:
- Lynch, Ryan Daniel
- Area of Honors:
- Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Andrew David Patterson, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Lester C Griel Jr., Thesis Honors Advisor
Dr. Lester C Griel Jr., Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- tempol
short-chain fatty acid
microbial fermentation - Abstract:
- Tempol (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl) is an antioxidant that is being developed as a therapy for the prevention and treatment for two of the most prevalent killers throughout the United States: cardiovascular disease and cancer. Recent studies have demonstrated tempol to be an effective scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that is capable of restoring normal function throughout the cardiovascular system in injured tissue due to ischemia and reperfusion. This report focuses on the ability of tempol (dose = 100 mg/kg by gavage) to prevent obesity in C57Bl/6 male mice (n = 7). Previous research has reported that tempol supplementation has prevented obesity in high-fat diet-fed mice through modulation of their gut microbiome, including pronounced phylum shifts in bacteria from Firmicutes to Bacteriodetes. This report expanded on this previous research by determining whether tempol supplementation affected the metabolism of short-chain fatty acids in addition to its effects on the gut microbiome. Thus, it was hypothesized that tempol supplementation would have significant effects on the gut microbial fermentation and short-chain fatty acid metabolism. NMR and GC-MS analysis was consistent and confirmed the hypothesis because there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the amount of short-chain fatty acids (butyrate, acetic acid, and propionate) in the cecal content of the tempol supplemented mice (n = 4) versus the non-tempol treated mice (n = 3). This experiment indicates that tempol has potential to prevent obesity in humans but more research is necessary to determine optimal dosage.