Alleviation Of Metabolic Endotoxemia In Adults With Metabolic Syndrome With Milk Fat Globule Membrane

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) adults (n = 24; 18-65 y) will be enrolled to complete a 2-arm, double-blind, randomized controlled, crossover trial. They will be randomized in 4-unit blocks to receive, for 14 d, a controlled diet with dairy milk (3.5% fat; 3 servings/d) enriched with milk fat globule membrane (MFGM, MEB) or a matched dairy milk that instead contains soy lecithin/phospholipid (control, COMP). All foods during each study period will be provided to ensure weight maintenance and to increase homogeneity of gut and host responses. Anthropometrics and blood pressure will be assessed at days 0, 7, and 14. Prior to (day 0) and after each 2-wk arm (day 14), a fasting blood sample will be collected to assess serum endotoxin and metabolic chemistries (glucose, lipids, insulin), and Toll-like receptor 4 /nuclear factor kappaB (TLR4/NFκB)-dependent genes from whole blood. A breath sample will be collected to assess the correlation analysis of plasma metabolic biomarkers. After the 2-week intervention, from fecal samples collected on day 13, the investigators will assess microbiota composition and function, short chain fatty acids (SCFA), and intestinal inflammatory markers (calprotectin, myeloperoxidase). On d 14, participants in the fasted state will receive a high-fat/high-glucose meal challenge to induce gut-derived endotoxin translocation. At 30-minute intervals for 3-hour, the investigators will evaluate circulating endotoxin, glucose, and insulin; TLR4/NFκB-dependent genes will be assessed from whole blood at 0 hour and 3-hour. Gut permeability probes will be co-administered with the test meal challenge, and 24-hour urine will be collected to assess gut barrier integrity. Participants will then undergo a 2-week washout prior to receiving the alternative treatment and completing all procedures in an identical manner.