Effect of dietary myo-inositol on metabolic changes in lipids in rats fed sucrose

Abstract

The effect of dietary addition of myo-inositol on lipid metabolism was examined in rats fed diets containing either sucrose or corn starch for 16-17 days. Sucrose-fed rats showed significant increases in hepatic weight, total lipids, triglyceride, cholesterol and serum triglyceride, accompanied by the increased activities of hepatic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and malic enz_yme compared to rats fed corn starch diet. The increases in these parameters due to sucrose feeding were clearly depressed by -dietary myo-inositol. Sucrose intake also increased serum level of phospholipid, but the effect was not influenced by dietary myo-inositol. In the animals fed corn starch, dietary myo-inositol had no apparent effect on lipid metabolic parameters mentioned above. These results suggest that an exogenous source of myo-inositol may be of importance to animals fed sucrose when compared to rats fed corn starch.