HEPATIC FATTY ACID PROFILE OF RATS FED A TRIHEPTANOIN-BASED KETOGENIC DIET.

Objective: the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of consumption of a ketogenic diet supplemented with triheptanoin, a medium-chain anaplerotic triacylglycerol, on the liver fatty acid profile of Wistar rats.

Methods: three groups of male Wistar rats (n = 10) were submitted to an AIN-93 control diet, a triheptanoin- based ketogenic diet, or a soybean oil-based ketogenic diet for 60 days. Excised livers were subjected to lipid extraction and methylation to obtain fatty acids methyl esters, which were subjected to gas chromatography- mass spectrometry.

Results And Discussion: compared to the rats fed the control diet, those fed ketogenic diets showed a significant reduction in the concentrations of 9-hexadecenoic and 9-octadecenoic acids, whereas those fed triheptanoin showed increased levels of octadecanoic acid.

Conclusion: changes in the liver fatty acid profiles of the rats fed a triheptanoin-based or a soybean oil-based ketogenic diet did not seem to be related to the dietary fat source, but rather to the characteristics of the ketogenic diets themselves.