Dietary restriction, caloric value and the accumulation of hepatic fat.

Background: Studies using laboratory animals under what are considered to be "standard" conditions normally offer unrestricted amounts of food to the animals, which can lead to metabolic disorders. Moreover, standard diets have different compositions.

Aim: Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the effects of two non-isocaloric diets (commercial Purina® and AIN-93M), which are considered standard diets, on the accumulation of fat in the liver of rats when offered ad libitum or in a restricted amount.