BackgroundKetosis can be induced in humans and in animals by fasting or dietary interventions, such as ketogenic diets. However, the increasing interest on the ketogenic state has motivated the development of alternative approaches to rapidly increase ketonemia using less drastic interventions. Here, it was tested whether oral intake of a β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) mineral salt mixture could increase ketonemia in Wistar rats without any other dietary changes, thereby being a useful model to study ketones effects alone on metabolism.MethodsβHB salts were orally administered to provoke elevation in the ketonemia. Effects of this intervention were tested acutely (by gavage) and chronically (4 weeks in drinking water). Acutely, a concomitant glucose overload was used to suppress endogenous ketogenesis and verify whether βHB salts were really absorbed or not. Long-term administration allowed to weekly evaluate the impact on ketonemia, blood glucose and, after 4 weeks, on body weight, visceral fat mass, lipid blood profile, serum lipolysis products and adiponectinemia.ResultsβHB salts increased ketonemia in acute and long-term administrations, improved blood lipid profile by raising HDL-cholesterol concentration and decreasing LDL/HDL ratio, while reduced visceral adipocyte volume. Mean ketonemia correlated positively with HDLc and negatively with adipocyte volume and serum lipolysis products.ConclusionsOral βHB can rapidly increase ketonemia and, therefore, be used as an acute and long-term animal model of ketosis. Long-term treatment points to important beneficial effects of ketone bodies in serum lipid concentrations and visceral fat mass. These results may help to explain the metabolic adaptations following ketogenic diets, such as a better body fat control and a serum lipid profile improvement.

Background:The Atkins diet program is a great example of the application of low carbohydrate diets for obesity, with the intention of weight loss and improvement in cardiovascular risk (CV risk). A good CV risk predictor is the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) calculated as log (TG/HDL [mmol]), which is strongly affected by serum triglycerides, which in turn is associated with the carbohydrate intake. This study determined the effect of the initial phase of Atkins diet program, consisting in 20 g/day of carbohydrate intake with positive urinary ketones measure, in AIP of 12 adult overweight trained adapted men. The AIP was calculated before and after intervention. Results: After 14 days, BMI and triglycerides decreased significantly, while HDL-C increased. No alterations were described in LDL plasmatic concentration. Prior to the diet, 58.3% of subjects presented high CV risk and after 14 days of the diet program only 33.3% of subjects were classified as high CV risk, while more than 66% were low CV risk. The intervention was effective in 11 of 12 participants. However, in one person the dietary intervention increased AIP index. Conclusion: The initial phase of Atkins diet program could significantly decrease the AIP in 11 of 12 adult overweight trained adapted men. Dietary individual responses need to be more studied. Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2015;59(6):568-71

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