Journal of Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics

Iron Overload Effect on Serum Levels of Glucose, Insulin and HOMA-IR was Ifluenced by the Type of Fat in Female Sprague-Dawley Rats Fed High-Fat-Diets

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the effect of iron supplementation on serum levels of glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR, and to examine the histological iron deposition in tissue in female Sprague-Dawley rats fed high-fat-diets (HFDs).

Methods: Rats were divided into three main groups: normal fat diet (NFD), high saturated fat diet (HSFD) and high monounsaturated fat diet (HMUSFD). After 6 weeks, rats were sub-divided into three sub-groups for intraperitonial injection of iron (control group, dose1 group (Do1); 15 mg/kg body weight (BW) and dose 2(Do2); (75 mg/kg BW). Serum glucose and insulin were measured. Also, the histological examination of iron deposition after Perl’s Prussian staining was examined.

Results: We indicated that a high dose of iron supplementation decreased total weight gain significantly by 3 folds in rats that were fed the NFD and 2.5 folds in rats that were fed the HMUFD as compared to control sub-groups (p<0.05). Moreover, mean HOMA-IR levels increased significantly in rats received a high dose of iron as compared to controls in the NFD and the HSFD groups (p<0.05) but not in HUSFD. However, liver iron accumulation was increased in HFDs groups compared to NFD.

Conclusion: The findings showed that iron overload complications could be influenced by the degree of saturation of dietary fat. However, the high dose of iron supplementation decreased total weight gain and increased liver weight, accompanied by insulin resistance. It is noteworthy that the diet rich in olive oil could have a protective effect against insulin resistance and adipose tissue iron accumulation.

Author(s):

Buthaina Alkhatib, Hayder Al-Domi, Maha Shomaf, Basha’er Abu Irmaileh

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