EFFECT OF OBESTATIN SUPPLEMENTATION ON PLASMA GLUCOSE, SERUM INSULIN AND INSULIN RESISTANCE IN HIGH FAT DIET INDUCED OBESE SPRAGUE DAWLEY RATS

Objective: To determine the effect of obestatin administration on plasma glucose levels, serum insulin levels and insulin resistance in obese Sprague Dawley Rats. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Army Medical College, Rawalpindi in collaboration with National Institute of Health Sciences (NIH), Islamabad from Apr 2013 to Jun 2013. Material and Methods: This study is a randomized controlled trial conducted at Physiology Department Army Medical College. Forty five male healthy Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups i.e. control group (group I) fed with normal pellet diet (NPD), obese group (group II) and obestatin treated obese group (group III) fed with high fat diet (HFD). After 10 weeks, group III was treated with obestatin (1 nmol/100mlintraperitoneally). Blood samples were obtained by terminal intracardiac sampling for bioasssays of plasma glucose by glucose oxidase method, serum insulin levels by ELISA and measurement of HOMA IR. Mean + SD was calculated. Statistical significance of differences across the groups was determined by one way ANOVA followed by Post Hoc Tukey’s test. A p-value<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Obestatin supplementation in obese rats showed significant decrease in plasma glucose levels and insulin resistance on comparison with the non treated control groups. Serum insulin levels were significantly decreased in obestatin treated obese group when compared to non treated obese group. Conclusion: Obestatin improves the glycemic status in obese rats and can be used as an adjunct therapeutic tool in preventing the comorbid sequelae of obesity.