abstract: To date, there have not been any studies in a human population that explore the potential of vinegar ingestion in reducing visceral fat, a common yet serious metabolic disease risk factor. However, previous research in animal models exhibit promising findings, showing that vinegar is effective at reducing visceral fat. This is thought to be due to the activation of AMPK (adenosine monophosphate protein kinase) by acetic acid, the active ingredient in vinegar. The purpose of this study was to identify if this potentially groundbreaking relationship exists in human subjects. Healthy, nonsmoking, sedentary adults between the ages 18-45 y and a waist circumference measurement greater than or equal to 33 inches for women and 38 inches for men were recruited for this study. Twenty-three participants completed this 8-week, parallel arm, randomized control trial that tested the efficacy of red wine vinegar consumption (2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, twice per day, before a meal; providing 3.6 g acetic acid) against a placebo (1 apple cider vinegar pill, twice per day, before a meal; providing 0.0225 g acetic acid) for 8 weeks. Participants were randomized into either the vinegar (VIN) or control (CON) group after being stratified by age, gender, waist circumference, and weight. Results found that the VIN group experienced a 2% decrease in visceral fat (cm3, quantified by a DXA scan), but this change did not differ significantly from that of the CON group (p=0.256). The VIN group also experienced a slight decrease in insulin compared to the CON group, but this change was not significantly different than the control change (p=0.125). However, the change in HOMA-IR trended downward in the VIN group (-16%) as compared to the CON group (+9%) (p=0.079) with a large effect size, 0.153. Other parameters did not show statistically significant results between the groups. Further research is indicated in order to examine the potential of vinegar to reduce visceral fat. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Nutrition 2018

La producción de vinagres por el sistema tradicional tiene como ventaja la gran calidad del producto final pero como inconveniente los tiempos de producción prolongados. El objetivo de esta tesis era mejorar este proceso mediante la utilización de diferentes tipos de barricas y el estudio de la microbiota implicada para un mejor control del proceso microbiológico. A nivel cinético, el uso de maderas más porosas que el roble redujo el tiempo de acetificación, mientras que una disminución del grosor no contribuyó a mejorar el proceso. A nivel microbiológico, se observó que dependiendo de las condiciones de la acetificación Acetobacter pasteurianus y/o diferentes especies del género Gluconacetobacter pueden ser las responsables del proceso. Sin embargo, no se observó la imposición de una cepa a lo largo de todo el proceso, sino una sucesión de cepas a medida que la acidez iba aumentando.