The metabolic syndrome of fructose-fed rats: effects of long-chain polyunsaturated ω3 and ω6 fatty acids. II. Time course of changes in food intake, body weight, plasma glucose and insulin concentrations and insulin resistance.

The time course for changes in food intake, body weight, plasma glucose and insulin concentrations and HOMA index was monitored over a period of 8 weeks in rats exposed from the 8th week after birth to diets containing either starch or fructose and sunflower oil. In two further groups of rats exposed to the fructose-rich diet part of the sunflower oil was substituted by either salmon oil rich in long-chain polyunsaturated ω3 fatty acids or safflower oil rich in long-chain polyunsaturated ω6 fatty acids. Despite lower food intake, the gain in body weight was higher in fructose-fed rats than in starch-fed rats.

The metabolic syndrome of fructose-fed rats: effects of long-chain polyunsaturated ω3 and ω6 fatty acids. I. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test.

The present series of experiments aim mainly at investigating the possible influence of changes in the com-position of dietary lipids (sunflower oil, salmon oil, safflower oil) upon the metabolic syndrome found in rats exposed to a fructose-rich diet. For purpose of comparison, a control group of rats received the sunflower oil diet with substitution of fructose by starch. An intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, performed after overnight starvation fifty days after the start of the experiments at the 6th week after birth, indicated, as expected, impaired tolerance to glucose and deterioration of insulin sensitivity (HOMA index), without changes in the insulinogenic index, when comparing the fructose-fed rats to the starch-fed rats both exposed to the sunflower oil diet.