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Influence of Insulin, Hydrocortisone and Thyroxine on Fatty Liver of Rats Fed a Low Casein Diet Supplemented with Methionine

Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan

Young rats fed an 8% casein diet supplemented with 0.3% methionine (methionine-supplemented diet) consumed more food and had a higher liver lipid content than animals fed an 8% casein diet (basal diet). To investigate the reasons for the accumulation of liver lipids, some hormonal effects on liver lipid content of rats fed the methionine-supplemented diet were examined. With both diets, hydrocortisone injection significantly increased the liver lipid content of intact or adrenalectomized rats, while thyroxine administration did not alter the liver lipid content of intact rats. In alloxan diabetic rats, the liver lipid content decreased although food intake increased. Injection of insulin into intact rats elevated the liver lipid content, the increase being greater in animals fed the basal diet than in those fed the methionine-supplemented diet. Insulin administration to adrenalectomized rats also increased the liver lipid. The level of immunoreactive insulin in the plasma of rats fed the methionine-supplemented diet was higher than that of animals fed the basal diet, but the level of plasma glucocorticoids was lower. There seemed to be no difference in the levels of plasma protein-bound iodine in the two groups. These results seem to indicate that insulin plays an important role in the accumulation of liver lipid due to methionine supplementation. The possible action of the methionine added to the basal diet on the endocrine and exocrine activities of the pancreas is discussed.