Effects of long-term consumption of energy drinks on the body and brain weights of adult Wistar rats

Abstract

Background: Effects of long-term consumption of energy drinks commonly used as flavored beverage drinks on the body and brain weights of adult Wistar rats was carefully studied. Materials and Methods: Twenty adult Wistar rats, with average weight of 200 g were randomly assigned into treatment (n = 10) and control (n = 10) groups. The rats in the treatment group received energy drinks and distilled water alternatively on a daily basis for 10 h and 14 h liberally for 30 days while the control group received distilled water liberally for the 30 days. The weight of the rats were measured daily during the period of the study. The rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation on the 31st day of the experiment, and the brain was carefully dissected out, weighed using Mettler Toledo weighing balance. The values obtained from the control and treatment groups were recorded and compared statistically using the unpaired sample t-test and symmetric measured test of the statistical package for social sciences. Results: The results of this experiment indicated that there was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the body and brain weights (g), and a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in relative brain weight (%) of the treated animals with energy drinks as compared to the control group. Conclusion: Long-term consumption of energy drinks could, therefore, have adverse effects on the body and brain weights of adult Wistar rats. Recommendation: We suggest that further studies aimed at corroborating these observations in humans be carried out.