Summary
Normal rats fed an isocaloric sucrose-rich diet (SRD) for 3 weeks developed high levels
of triacylglycerol in plasma (P) (mmol triacylglycerol I-1 ) heart (H) and liver (L) tissues (μmol triacylglycerol mg DNA-1 ) as compared to control rats fed the standard chow (STD) (X±SEM; P: SRD 1.32±0.06
vs STD 0.49±0.05, P < 0.001; H: SRD 2.1±0.17 vs STD 0.94±0.01, P < 0.001; L: SRD 8.48±1.47
vs STD 1.71±0.12, P < 0.001). A simultaneous drop in the activities (μmol glycerol
ml-1 hr-1 ) of several plasma post heparin lipolytic enzymes was observed; total triglyceride
lipase (T-TGL): SRD 5.32±0.34 vs STD 7.48±0.64, P < 0.01; lipoprotein lipase (LPL):
SRD 1.61±0.26 vs STD 2.42±0.41, P < 0.05; hepatictriglyceride lipase (H-TGL): SRD
3.71±0.28 vs STD 5.05±0.69, P < 0.05 and monoglyceride hydrolase (MGH) (μmol glycerol
I-1 min-1 ): SRD 558±108 vs STD 1165±45, P < 0.001. Rats fed the SRD presented glucose intolerance
after i.v. glucose (Kg × 10-2 ; 1.06±0.09 vs 2.61±0.14 of STD, P < 0.001) in spite of the presence of hyperinsulinism
(Σ plasma IRI μU/ml from 0 to 30 min: 184.6±23.6 vs 100.5±9.7 of STD, P < 0.01) suggesting
that a state of insulin resistance had developed.
The addition of 0.25 g% of either tiadenol (TIAD) or clofibrate (CLOF) to the sucrose-rich
diet during the 3rd. week of the experimental period resulted in a highly significant
fall of plasma and tissue triacylglycerol levels as compared to rats receiving the
SRD alone; P: SRD + TIAD 0.73±0.04, SRD + CLOF 0.79±0.09, P < 0.001; H: SRD + TIAD
1.44 ±0.06, SRD ± CLOF 1.10±0.18, P < 0.001; L: SRD + TIAD 3.02±0.30, SRD + CLOF 3.35±0.48,
P < 0.01. Animals receiving either hypolipemic drug showed stagnation of body weight
gain associated with a lower food intake. Neither of these two intervening events
were apparently responsible for the triglyceride lowering effects associated with
the drug treatment, since a special control group of rats receiving a sucrose-rich
diet quantitatively restricted so as to mimic the calories spontaneously eaten by
the drug treated group, still exhibited H and L triacylglycerol levels comparable
to those found in rats eating “ad libitum” the SRD alone.
Clofibrate and tiadenol treatment was also accompanied by a striking increase in all
the plasma post heparin lipolytic enzymes measured; T-TGL: SRD + CLOF 7.80±0.42 P
< 0.001; SRD / TIAD 6.39±0.16 P < 0.05; H-TGL: SRD + CLOF: 4.80±0.36; SRD + TIAD:
4.62±0.46, P < 0.05; LPL: SRD + CLOF 2.89±0.36, P < 0.01; SRD + TIAD 2.06±0.43; MGH:
SRD + CLOF 928±102, SRD + TIAD 802±106, P < 0.05. Simultaneously, glucose tolerance
and insulin responses to i.v. glucose were both normalized after tiadenol treatment
(kg × 10-2 : 2.44±0.10 and Σ plasma IRI from 0 to 30 min: 84.8±6.1). Thus, under the present
experimental design clofibrate or tiadenol were both able to reverse partially or
completely the abnormal metabolic, enzymatic and hormonal parameters investigated
by us in rats fed an isocaloric sucrose-rich diet.
Key-Words:
Sucrose-Rich Diet
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Plasma Post Heparin Lipolytic Activities
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Hipolypemic Drugs
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Clofibrate
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Tiadenol
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Hypertriglyceridemia
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Serum Lipids