Potential Intervention of α- Lipoic Acid and Carnitine on Insulin Sensitivity and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines Levels in Fructose-Fed Rats, a Model of Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe objective of this work was to evaluate the beneficial effect of α-lipoic acid (ALA) and L-carnitine (CAR) on insulin sensitivity and anti-inflammatory markers in animal model of metabolic syndrome (MS), high fructose (HF)-fed rats. Forty male rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10). Group 1(control rats, G1), animals were allowed to drink 0.2% gum acacia (GA, p.o) and were fed a modified diet containing 65% cornstarch. The remaining rats were induced MS by feeding the same diet + free access to 10% fructose (w/v) in 0.2% GA (HF, MS) for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks of HF feeding, the rats were further divided into three subgroups; G2: HF (MS) in 0.2% GA, G3: HF (MS)+CAR (200 mg/kg/day) in 0.2% GA and G4: HF (MS)+ALA (200 mg/kg/day) in 0.2% GA, respectively. All ingredients were administered orally by guava daily for four weeks. A significant increase in serum glucose, insulin and Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) levels was observed after four weeks of HF feeding compared to control rats. Administration of ALA and CAR reversed the increase of the mentioned parameters. In HF rats, the increase of serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were significantly lowered, while the reduction of the serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was alleviated after administration of CAR and ALA. The reduction of the serum adiponectin level was significantly increased after administration of CAR and ALA. These data suggested that CAR and/or ALA had a beneficial role in the prevention of MS associated with development of type 2 diabetes.