Evaluation of the effects of alcohol and high-fructose corn syrup on metabolic parameters, serum free fatty acids, and liver tissue of rats

Bilger Çavuş¹, Aydın Şükrü Bengü², Türker Çavuş³, Mehmet Alagöz⁴, Serkan Yıldırım⁵, Muhammed Bahaeddin Dörtbudak⁵

¹Bingöl Devlet Hastanesi, Gastroenterohepatoloji Bölümü - ²Bingöl Üniversitesi, Sağlik Hizmetleri Meslek Yüksekokulu - ³Kirklareli Devlet Hastanesi, İç Hastaliklari Bölümü - ⁴Bingöl Devlet Hastanesi, İç Hastaliklari Bölümü - ⁵Atatürk Üniversitesi, Veteriner Fakültesi, Klinik Öncesi Bilimler Bölümü, Patoloji A.B.D.

Background and aim: A number of histopathological and metabolic changes occur worldwide, primarily involving the liver, due to increased consumption of alcohol and high-fructose corn syrup. In our study, we tried to reveal the changes caused in the liver and in serum free fatty acids (FFA) by a diet of alcohol and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Methods: Twenty-four adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups, with eight of them in each group. All rats were fed ad libitum with normal pellets. The rats in group one received normal drinking water, those in group 2 received a mixture of 10% ethanol and drinking water, and those in group 3 received 55% HFCS dissolved in drinking water. Liver tissue samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Simultaneous analysis of fatty acids was conducted on blood samples using a gas chromatography mass spectrometry device.

Results: Weight gain in the group fed only HFCS was found to be significant (p=0.03). Blood sugar levels were not significantly different between the groups. When the lipid profile was examined, low-density lipoprotein (p=0.038) and high-density lipoprotein (p=0.08) cholesterol levels were found to be significantly higher in the fructose-consuming group. In the comparative evaluation of FFA between groups, C18:2 level was found to be highest in the normal group and lowest in the fructose-consuming group (p=0.07). In the histopathological evaluation of the liver, steatosis and hydropic degeneration in hepatocytes were observed in the two groups fed alcohol and HFCS, and they were more prominent in the alcohol-consuming group than in the fructose group. 

Conclusion: Alcohol and fructose caused damage to hepatocytes and sinusoids in the liver, and the levels of C18:2 (long-chain fatty acids) in serum were found to be significantly low, especially in the fructose-consuming group.