Journal of Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics

Dietary Factors in Fasting Blood Glucose Levels and Weight Gain in Female Sprague Dawley Rats

This was a controlled intervention study with 30 female Sprague Dawley rats to determine the effect of the various classes of food in fasting blood glucose most importantly the effects of these variant feeds on their weight, also assessing the modulating effects of dietary fibre, and the relationship between weight gain and fasting blood sugar. After acclimatization for two weeks, during which the rats were fed with food and water ad libitum and during which they were trained to eat various types of diets. They were randomly allocated into four groups: A, B, C and D. They were given water ad libitum throughout the duration of the study. Fasting blood glucose was estimated in all rats on day 1 and 21 of the study using Accu Check Roche glucometer and strips. The rats were also weighed on day 1 and 21 of the study. The observed differences in the mean weight gain between the control group A and B, C and D respectively were subjected to student t-test of difference of mean at 5% (0.05) level of significance. The correlation coefficient between the mean weight gain and fasting blood sugar was calculated. The highest weight gain recorded in this study was in the control group A fed with grower’s mash specially prepared for the growth of poulets that are of commercial use due to the presence of low dietary protein. Sprague Dawley rats fed with crayfish, a protein diet had the lowest fasting blood sugar after 21 days of constant administration/ feeding which is a desirable outcome in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The Sprague Dawley rats fed with ground palm kernel also had a significantly weight loss during the study period. Though a completely lipid diet like palm kernel is expected to have a markedly increased weight gain, this was not so in this study due to the presence of dietary fibres contained in palm kernel.

Author(s):

Ikpotokin O Samuel, Adeleye O Samuel, Aliu E Donatus, Osayande A Becky and Ehiabhi Stanley

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