Consumption of fruits and vegetables has been investigated for their role in the prevention of many chronic conditions. Among the fruits, mango provides numerous bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, vitamin C and phenolic compounds, which have been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study examined the effects of dietary supplementation of freeze-dried mango pulp, in comparison with the hypolipidaemic drug, fenofibrate, and the hypoglycaemic drug, rosiglitazone, in reducing adiposity and alterations in glucose metabolism and lipid profile in mice fed a high-fat (HF) diet. Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into six treatment groups (eight to nine/group): control (10 % energy from fat); HF (60 % energy from fat); HF þ 1 or 10 % freeze-dried mango (w/w); HF þ fenofibrate (500 mg/kg diet); HF þ rosiglitazone (50 mg/kg diet). After 8 weeks of treatment, mice receiving the HF diet had a higher percentage body fat (P¼ 0·0205) and epididymal fat mass (P¼ 0·0037) compared with the other treatment groups. Both doses of freeze-dried mango, similar to fenofibrate and rosiglitazone, prevented the increase in epididymal fat mass and the percentage of body fat. Freeze-dried mango supplementation at the 1 % dose improved glucose tolerance as shown by approximately 35 % lower blood glucose area under the curve compared with the HF group. Moreover, freeze-dried mango lowered insulin resistance, as indicated by the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, to a similar extent as rosiglitazone and modulated NEFA. The present findings demonstrate that incorporation of freeze-dried mango in the diet of mice improved glucose tolerance and lipid profile and reduced adiposity associated with a HF diet.

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Iron deficiency impairs lymphocyte proliferation in humans and laboratory animals by unknown mechanisms. In this study, we investigated whether this alteration can be attributed in part to impaired hydrolysis of cell membrane phosphatidyl inositol-4, 5-bisphosphate (PIP2), a required early event of T-lymphocyte activation. The study involved 46 iron-deficient (ID), 26 control (C) and 23 pair-fed (PF) mice, and ID mice that were repleted for 3 (n = 16), 7 (n = 17) or 14 d (n = 18). Mice were killed after 40-63 d (mean, 48 d) of consuming the test diet (0.09 mmol/kg iron) or the control diet (0.9 mmol/kg). The mean (+/-SEM) hemoglobin concentrations were 57 +/- 16.7, 176 +/- 2.6 and 181 +/- 9.7 g/L for ID, C and PF groups, respectively. After splenic lymphocytes were labeled in vitro with 3H-myoinositol for 3 h, PIP2 hydrolysis was estimated by measuring the radioactivity recovered as a mixture of inositol mono-, di- and triphosphate (IP) from concanavalin A (0, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/L) activated cells. Although cells from ID mice and those from mice repleted for 3 d incorporated slightly more radioactivity in cellular phospholipids than did cells from C or PF mice, less (P < 0.005) was recovered as IP than in controls, suggesting impaired conversion of the precursor to PIP2. At almost all incubation periods (10-120 min) and mitogen concentrations, the rate of PIP2 hydrolysis expressed as the ratio of radioactivity obtained in Con A-treated to untreated cells was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced in cells from ID mice compared with those obtained from C and PF mice. For cells that were activated for 60 min or less, iron repletion for 14 d significantly (P < 0.05) improved the rate of PIP2 hydrolysis. PIP2 hydrolysis positively and significantly (P < 0.05) correlated (r = 0.27-0.56) with indicators of iron status. Mitogenic response was also significantly (P < 0.05) reduced in ID but not PF mice, and it was corrected by iron repletion for 3, 7 or 14 d. Lymphocyte proliferation positively (r = 0.27-0.37, P < 0.01) correlated with indices of iron status and IP ratios. The data suggest that reduced PIP2 hydrolysis contributes to impaired blastogenesis in iron deficiency.