Micronutrient status effects on glucose tolerance in rats

Abstract

Decrease in bioavailability ofmicronutrients including retinol occurred frequently in patients with diabetes mellitus. We supposed that iron status might relate to glucose metabolism, because vitamin A utilization is inhibited in iron deficiency. To clarify the mechanism of these relationships, following experiment was carried out. Rats were divided into four groups: male wistar-strain rats, which fed the normal diet （N）, the iron-deficient diet （ID）, the retinol-deficient diet （RD）, and Goto-Kakizaki rat （diabetic model rats, GK） fed the normal diet. Every rat was trained to daily meal feeding （9:00-18:00） to measure serum glucose. After 4 weeks of these dietary regiments, serum glucose was higher in iron-deficient rats than the N-group and the RD-group. Hepatic retinol was higher in the ID-group than the GK-group and the N-group. Serum retinol was lower in the ID-group than the GK-group and the N-group. These results suggested that iron deficiency induced glucose intolerance in rats. In conclusion, micronutrients status effect on a diabetic conditio