The Effect of ketogenic diet on inflammatory factors, liver structure and function in male rats

Abstract

Due to the high fat content of the ketogenic diet, the liver may be one of the tissues damaged by fat accumulation. Inflammation and the increase of inflammatory factors may be one of the most important factors involved in liver damage caused by fat accumulation that affects the structure and function of the liver. The aim of this study is evaluation of the effect of ketogenic diet on inflammatory factors, liver structure and function in male rats. Materials and Methods: This research was a laboratory basic sciences study that was conducted in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 1401. This study was conducted on the liver tissue of 19 twelve-week-old healthy male SD rats in two groups: 1. ND group (Normal Diet ad libitum): control group with a normal (standard) diet (normal pellet) with free access to food and water 2. KD (Ketogenic Diet) group: including the ratio of 3/6: 1 fat: [carbohydrate + protein]: the source of fat was from sheep fat tissue and vegetable butter (margarine), which was mixed with normal pellet according to the mentioned ratio by weight. The administration period in all groups was 30 days. After the administration period, all rats were weighed and then anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of a single dose of ketamine (100 mg/kg). Venous blood samples were taken. Their serum was separated by a centrifuge at 3000 g for 15 minutes and stored in a freezer at -80 degrees Celsius until the tests were performed. The rats were then killed by a single lethal dose of ketamine (200 mg/kg) and their livers were removed. In the present study, serum samples and frozen liver tissue and placed in formalin were used to perform the tests. The levels of inflammatory factors IL-6 and TNF-α were evaluated by ELISA, serum levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate, cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as liver enzymes were evaluated by spectrophotometry and biochemistry autoanalyzer. Liver structure was evaluated by H&E staining and histological methods. Finally, the results were compared by statistical methods between the two main groups. Results: In this study, among liver enzymes, inflammatory factors and beta-hydroxybutyrate serum level in the two studied groups, variables of cholesterol (P<0.001), SGPT (P<0.001), β-hydroxybutyrate (P<0.001), IL-6 (P=0.005), TNF-α (P=0.002) and fatty liver grade (P<0.001) were significantly higher in the ketogenic diet group than in the normal diet group; While other variables, including triglyceride and SGOT, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups of normal diet and ketogenic diet (P>0.05); Also, there was no significant correlation between any of the variables of liver enzymes, inflammatory factors and beta-hydroxybutyrate serum level in rats under ketogenic diet (P>0.05).