Effect of Fructose Ingestion on Some Minerals Status of Diabetic Rats

This study was conducted to investigate the relation between fructose consumption and some minerals status of diabetic rats. Thirty six adult male albino rat of Sprague Dawley strain, weighing (180 ± 5 gm) were divided in two groups. The first group (n=6) was kept as negative control group, the second main group (n=30) was injected with Streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes, then these rats were divided into five subgroups. Subgroup one was fed on the basal diet and served as a positive control group, subgroups from 2 to 5 were fed on basal diet and supplemented with fructose at the level of 5, 10, 15 and 25%, respectively.  At the end of the experimental period (6 weeks), rats were sacrificed and blood samples were collected to obtain serum. The results indicated that, STZ treated rats showed significant reduction (P<0.05) in serum insulin concentration and, increased glucose levels compared to normal rats. Supplementation with different levels of fructose in the diet caused significant increase in the concentration of insulin while glucose level was significantly decreased compared to the positive control one. It was also observed that the concentration of serum zinc, magnesium and iron was significantly increased in all tested groups, compared to the positive control group. In conclusions, diet supplemented with 15% fructose caused the best of the biochemical results in diabetic rats. Hence the study recommends a trial to be conducted on diabetic patients before general recommendation.