1H NMR-based metabolite profiling of diet-induced obesity in a mouse mode

High-fat diets (HFD) and high-carbohydrate diets (HCD)- induced obesity through different pathways, but the metabolic differences between these diets are not fully understood. Therefore, we applied proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR)-based metabolomics to compare the metabolic patterns between C57BL/6 mice fed HCD and those fed HFD. Principal component analysis derived from 1H NMR spectra of urine showed a clear separation between the HCD and HFD groups. Based on the changes in urinary metabolites, the slow rate of weight gain in mice fed the HCD related to activation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (resulting in increased levels of citrate and succinate in HCD mice), while the HFD affected nicotinamide metabolism (increased levels of 1-methylnicotineamide, nicotinamide-N-oxide in HFD mice), which leads to systemic oxidative stress. In addition, perturbation of gut microflora metabolism was also related to different metabolic patterns of those two diets. These findings demonstrate that 1H NMR- based metabolomics can identify diet-dependent perturbations in biological pathways. [BMB Reports 2012; 45(7): 419-424]