Administration of tomato and paprika beverages modifies hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism in mice: a DNA...

To examine whether the expression of hepatic genes, including biomarkers, is affected by the ingestion of tomato or paprika, mice were given tomato beverage (TB), paprika beverage (PB), or water (control) ad libitum for 6 weeks. The body weights in the TB and PB groups were significantly lower than those in the control group. Administration of PB significantly increased the plasma high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level. Hepatic gene expression was investigated using DNA microarrays. The ingestion of TB or PB up-regulated the expression of 687 and 1045 genes and down-regulated the expression of 841 and 653 genes, respectively (false discovery rate<0.05). These changes in gene expression suggest that TB ingestion promotes glycogen accumulation and stimulates some specific steps in fatty acid oxidation. PB ingestion promoted the entire glucose and fatty acid metabolic pathways to improve lipid profiles. These results provide useful genetic information about a variety of biochemical processes by which vegetables can contribute to good health.