Different roles of zinc plus arachidonic acid on insulin sensitivity between high fructose- and high fat-fed rats

Abstract Aims This study was to determine the effects of zinc plus arachidonic acid (ZA) treatment on the insulin action in the specific ZA target organs using hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp method. Main methods 18 Sprague–Dawley rats weighing ~  130 g were divided into 3 groups of 6 rats and treated them with 1) normal rat chow, 2) high fructose (60.0%) diet only, or 3) the same fructose diet plus drinking water containing 10 mg zinc plus 50 mg arachidonic acid (AA)/L. In a separate study, male Wistar rats weighing ~  250 g were fed normal rat chow ( n  = 4) or high fat (66.5%) diet with drinking water containing zero ( n  = 9) or 10 mg AA plus 20 mg zinc /L ( n  = 9). After 4 week treatment, insulin action was assessed using the hyperinsulinemic eguglycemic clamp technique. Key findings High fructose feeding impaired suppression of hepatic glucose output by insulin compared to controls during the clamp procedure (4.39 vs. 2.35 mg/kg/min; p p p n  = 9] vs. 22.8 ± 1.3 mg/kg/min; p Significance These data demonstrate that ZA treatment is effective in improving glucose utilization in hyperglycemic rats receiving either a high-fructose or a high-fat diet.