Effect of Selenium Deficiency on Urinary Ketone Body Excretion in Starved Rats

Abstract

Abstract Rats were fed a Se-deficient (Se content: 0.011 μ g/g) or a Se-adequate diet (the basal diet supplemented with 0.1 μg Se/g as sodium selenite). On the 22nd week of the feeding period, the rats were starved for 72 h and the urinary excretion of ketone bodies (acetoacetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate), urea, and creatinine were examined. The urinary excretion of ketone bodies were markedly higher in the Se-deficient rats than in the Se-adequate rats 24 h after the start of starvation, while the excretion of urea and creatinine were similar in the Se-deficient and Se-adequate rats. Se status did not effect on the plasma urea and creatinine contents as well as urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase activity; renal function was not impaired by Se deficiency. These results indicate that Se deficiency causes an increase of urinary ketone body excretion in starved rats and that the increase is ketone-specific with no changes in major urinary profiles.