{ "abstract": "The obesogenic nutrient composition and processing characteristics of ultra-processed foods may contribute to metabolic dysfunction. The present study evaluated a standardized cafeteria diet, alone or combined with low-dose streptozotocin (STZ), in male Wistar rats. Animals (n = 32) were allocated to Healthy Control, STZ (35 mg/kg), Cafeteria Diet (CAF), and CAF + STZ groups. The diet contained standard chow, condensed milk, refined sugar, hydrogenated fat, soybean oil, and chocolate-filled biscuits, homogenized and thermally processed at 180°C. After 102 days, anthropometric, metabolic, inflammatory, gene expression, microbiota, and histopathological parameters were assessed. CAF induced a marked obesogenic phenotype, with increased body weight (+172.3%) and abdominal circumference (+38.7%; P < 0.01). CAF showed hyperglycemia (median glucose, 403 mg/dl) and higher HOMA-IR than Healthy Control (P < 0.01); CAF + STZ also showed increased HOMA-IR (P < 0.05). CAF increased IL-1β and IL-6 (P < 0.05), triglycerides, adipocyte hypertrophy (P < 0.01), and adipose leptin expression (P < 0.05), while reducing muscle Slc2a4/GLUT4 expression (P < 0.01). Liver, kidney, and pancreatic histopathological scores did not differ significantly. Gut microbiota showed marked compositional imbalance and low taxonomic evenness, with Firmicutes (99.83%), Ligilactobacillus (99.36%), and Lactobacillaceae (99.52%) predominating, while Enterobacteriaceae represented 0.14%. Despite no reduction in Shannon or Simpson indices, extreme Ligilactobacillus dominance indicated a restricted and uneven community. Overall, the cafeteria diet reproduced obesity-associated metabolic dysfunction, characterized by hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, inflammation, adipocyte hypertrophy, altered glucose and leptin expression, and substantial microbiota restructuring.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Science, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Natal, Brazil.", "Postgraduate Program in Oral Science, Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Natal, Brazil.", "Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Natal, Brazil.", "Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Science, Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Natal, Brazil.", "Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Postgraduate Program in Functional and Structural Biology UFRN, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Natal, Brazil.", "Faculty of Health Sciences (FCS), Federal University of Rondonópolis (UFR), Rondonópolis, Brazil.", "Postgraduate Program in Biochemistry and Biology, Postgraduate Program in Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Natal, Brazil.", "Postgraduate Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Natal, Brazil.", "Department of Biophysical and Pharmacology, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Natal, Brazil.", "Departament of Patology, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Natal, Brazil.", "Graduate Program in Health Science and Technology, Department of Dentistry, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil.", "Department of Biophysical and Pharmacology, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Anclivepa Natal Faculty, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.", "Graduate Program in Oral Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry of Piracicaba, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Oral Sciences, Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.", "Postgraduate Program in Oral Sciences, Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences Department of Biophysical and Pharmacology, Federal University of Rio Grande Norte, Natal, Brazil." ], "article_type": "research article", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 18, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Susana Barbosa Ribeiro", "orcid": "0000-0001-5209-8239" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Rômulo Camilo de Oliveira Melo", "orcid": "0009-0007-9224-0210" }, { "affs": [ 2 ], "name": "Lucas Vinicius Souza de Carvalho" }, { "affs": [ 3 ], "name": "Arnóbio Antônio da Silva Júnior", "orcid": "0000-0002-7516-1787" }, { "affs": [ 4 ], "name": "Raimundo Fernandes de Araújo Júnior", "orcid": "0000-0003-2349-2354" }, { "affs": [ 2 ], "name": "Amanda Silveira da Silva" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Gabrielle Marques de Paiva", "orcid": "0009-0001-9169-6562" }, { "affs": [ 5 ], "name": "Vinicus Barreto Garcia", "orcid": "0000-0002-0793-942X" }, { "affs": [ 6 ], "name": "Ana Heloneida de Araújo Morais" }, { "affs": [ 7 ], "name": "Ana Júlia Felipe Camelo Aguiar", "orcid": "0000-0001-7548-3105" }, { "affs": [ 8 ], "name": "Caroline Addison Carvalho Xavier de Medeiros", "orcid": "0000-0001-9224-2434" }, { "affs": [ 9 ], "name": "Maiara de Morais", "orcid": "0009-0001-7806-3381" }, { "affs": [ 10 ], "name": "Bruna Rafaela Martins Dos Santos", "orcid": "0000-0003-4009-6871" }, { "affs": [ 2 ], "name": "Rafael Lino Mokwa", "orcid": "0009-0007-2662-8313" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Francisco Caninde de Souza Junior", "orcid": "0000-0003-2042-4348" }, { "affs": [ 11 ], "name": "Maíra Conceição Jerônimo de Souza Lima", "orcid": "0000-0002-2770-0977" }, { "affs": [ 12 ], "name": "Ciro Dantas Soares", "orcid": "0000-0002-6861-6640" }, { "affs": [ 13 ], "name": "Aurigena Antunes de Araújo", "orcid": "0000-0001-9264-4695" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8fceryrhxjqya.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.1042/bsr20260388", "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13694264", "id": "8fceryrhxjqya", "issns": [ "0144-8463", "1573-4935" ], "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42831297", "language": "eng", "licence": "CC-BY", "licence_label": "CC BY", "licence_source": "article", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "openalex", "2712|Diet, Metabolism, and Disease" ] ], "openalex": "W7220408762", "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13694264?pdf=render", "pmcid": "PMC13694264", "pmid": "42831297", "published": "2026-10-30", "publisher": null, "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8fceryrhxjqya.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:02Z", "native_id": "MED:42831297", "source": "europepmc", "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42831297" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "medicine", "origin": "openalex:2712|Diet, Metabolism, and Disease", "subfield": "endocrinology-metabolism" } ], "title": "A thermally processed cafeteria diet reproducibly mimics early metabolic syndrome through obesity, insulin resistance, and inflammatory activation in Wistar rats.", "title_text": "A thermally processed cafeteria diet reproducibly mimics early metabolic syndrome through obesity, insulin resistance, and inflammatory activation in Wistar rats.", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:02Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8fceryrhxjqya", "venue": "Bioscience reports", "versions": [] }