2016 Volume 69 Issue 6 Pages 289-297
To investigate the effects of diet restriction on glucose and lipid metabolism, indicator molecules were measured at 3-h intervals beginning at 18:00 in rats that were fed at 17:00, after feeding ad libitum (control) , or after feeding on 80% of the control diet for 2 weeks. Stomach contents were increased in the diet restriction group relative to the control group until 3:00 next morning and then decreased after 9:00. In the diet restriction group, the levels of plasma free fatty acid and total ketone body increased and the level of insulin decreased during fasting. The hepatic glycogen level reached a peak similarly to the control group at 7 h after feeding but 6 h earlier than in the control group. As a result of diet restriction, the plasma and liver triacylglycerol levels were significantly decreased and the weights of visceral adipose tissue were significantly decreased with a decrease of body weight increment. The diurnal rhythm was generally more obvious in the diet restriction group than in the control group. In the diet-restricted rats, the plasma corticosterone concentration was significantly increased and the indices of glucose and lipid metabolism were similar during starvation, suggesting that the diet-restricted rats could not avoid stress shortly before receiving the next meal at 17:00.
