Vitamin C decreases the obesogenic and hyperglycemic effect of invert sugar in prediabetic rats

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether vitamin C can help to prevent obesity and hyperglycemia in Wistar rats treated with excess invert sugar to induce prediabetes. Methods: One hundred-day-old Male Wistar rats with a mean weight of 336.58±23.43g were randomly assigned to the following groups: (1) control, receiving water (C); (2) invert sugar control, receiving a 32% watery solution of invert sugar; (3) vitamin C control, receiving a watery solution of vitamin C (60mg/L), and (4) vitamin C plus invert sugar, receiving a watery solution of vitamin C and invert sugar. All animals had access to chow and water ad libitum and were treated for 17 weeks. Prediabetes was assessed according to two criteria: obesity (based on body mass indexand peritoneal fat content) and impaired glucose tolerance (assessed by the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test and expressed as area under the curve) . Results: Group invert sugar control gained significantly more weight (p=0.035) and visceral fat (p<0.001) than groups vitamin C control and vitamin C plus invert sugar. Consequently, groups vitamin C control and vitamin C plus invert sugar had gained as little body mass index as group C by the end of the experiment. Vitamin C decreased the fasting glycemia of both groups supplemented with vitamin C and normalized the glucose tolerance of group vitamin C plus invert sugar, whose area under the curve matched that of group C. Conclusion: Vitamin C has anti-obesogenic and glycemia-lowering effects in Wistar rats, which might be promising to prediabetics. Future studies are needed to understand the anti-obesogenic and anti-hyperglycemic mechanisms of vitamin C in prediabetes.

Anti-obesity and Anti-lipidemic Properties of Ascorbic Acid in Fructose Induced Obese Wistar Rats

“…The Lee obesity index is the equivalent of BMI used to depict obesity in humans. It correlated positively with percentage body fat and weight for animals made obese by diet and is thus a simple and reliable predictor for percentage body fat and obesity in rodents [18]. In this study, obese rats treated with ascorbic acid showed marked weight loss and a reduction in Lee obesity index to a non-obese value similar to control and statin treated groups.…”

“…This is shown by the increased body weight, waist circumference and a 'Lee index of obesity' greater than 300 [16], [17]. A Lee obesity index greater than 300 is widely accepted as an indicator for the presence of obesity in rats [17], [18]. The Lee obesity index is the equivalent of BMI used to depict obesity in humans.…”