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Taurine 8 pp 39–50Cite as

The Effect of Long-Term Taurine Supplementation and Fructose Feeding on Glucose and Lipid Homeostasis in Wistar Rats

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 776))

Abstract

The nonprotein amino acid taurine has been shown to counteract the negative effects of a high-fructose diet in rats with regard to insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Here we examined the long-term (26 weeks) effects of oral taurine supplementation (2% in the drinking water) in fructose-fed Wistar rats.

The combination of fructose and taurine caused a significant increase in fasting glucose compared to the control diet without changing hepatic phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase mRNA levels. The combination of fructose and taurine also improved glucose tolerance compared to control. Neither a high-fructose diet nor taurine supplementation induced significant changes in body weight, body fat or total calorie intake, fasting insulin levels, HOMA-IR, or insulin-induced Akt phosphorylation in skeletal muscle.

Fructose alone caused a decrease in liver triglyceride content, with taurine supplementation preventing this. There was no effect of long-term fructose diet and/or taurine supplementation on plasma triglycerides, plasma nonesterified fatty acids, as well as plasma HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol.

In conclusion, the study suggests that long-term taurine supplementation improves glucose tolerance and normalize hepatic triglyceride content following long-term fructose feeding. However, as the combination of taurine and fructose also increased fasting glucose levels, the beneficial effect of taurine supplementation towards amelioration of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance may be questionable.

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Abbreviations

Fru:

Fructose

HDL:

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

HOMA-IR:

Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance

LDL:

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

OGTT:

Oral glucose tolerance test

Tau:

Taurine

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by The Danish Strategic Research Council grant #09-067124 and #09-059921, Danish Medical Research Council grant #271-07-0732, by Købmand i Odense Johann og Hanne Weimann f. Seedorffs Legat, Gangstedfonden, Ernst Fischers mindelegat, Eva og Hans Carl Adolfs Mindelegat, and Direktør Emil Hertz og Hustru Inger Hertz Fond.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cellular and Metabolic Research Section, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Lea Hüche Larsen, Laura Kofoed Hvidsten Ørstrup, Niels Grunnet, Bjørn Quistorff & Ole Hartvig Mortensen

  2. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Rigshospitalet and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Svend Høime Hansen

Authors
  1. Lea Hüche Larsen
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  2. Laura Kofoed Hvidsten Ørstrup
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  3. Svend Høime Hansen
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  4. Niels Grunnet
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  5. Bjørn Quistorff
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  6. Ole Hartvig Mortensen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ole Hartvig Mortensen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. City University of New York, Center for Developmental Neuroscience, College of Staten Island, 2800 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, 10314, New York, USA

    Abdeslem El Idrissi

  2. City University of New York, Department of Biology, College of Staten Island, Victory Blvd 2800, Staten Island, 10314, New York, USA

    William J. L'Amoreaux

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Larsen, L.H., Ørstrup, L.K.H., Hansen, S.H., Grunnet, N., Quistorff, B., Mortensen, O.H. (2013). The Effect of Long-Term Taurine Supplementation and Fructose Feeding on Glucose and Lipid Homeostasis in Wistar Rats. In: El Idrissi, A., L'Amoreaux, W. (eds) Taurine 8. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 776. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6093-0_5

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