Effect of Dietary Sucrose on Body Weight and Antioxidant Status (Vitamin C and Uric Acid) of Wister Strain of Albino Rats

Introduction

Sucrose, an ordinary table sugar, is the most common dietary sugar which is refined from sugar canes (13% sugar) or sugar beets (16% sugar), but is also naturally present in fruits [1]. Sucrose is extracted as a sweet, white crystalline substance, which is a valuable food product, and being antiputrescent, it is largely used in the preservation of fruits [2]. It is also a well-known constituent in many products such as cakes, candles, jam, fruits, soft drinks etc [3]. The increase in consumption of sucrose and the alleged consequences associated with the high intake of sucrose consumption has brought about various claims and hypothesis [4], which has led to research studies and publications by scientist nutritionists and nutritional organizations all over the world [5]. There have been series of researches from organizations like USFDA’s sugar task force, the British foundation task force on sugar who came up with various counter claims on the pathogenesis of sugar. The British Nutrition Foundation task on sugar and syrups and the United Kingdom force report also invested in sugar research with series of claims on the associated risks that sugar (sucrose) aggravates asthma, mental illness and nervous disorders [6].

Ordinary body weight increases with age. The average body weight for a normal adult is 70kg [7]. There have been a number of recent studies that looked at sucrose diet and body weight in both children and adults. Bolton-Smith, et al. Observed that weight falls as the amount of sugar (sucrose) eaten rises. In other words, those eating food high in sucrose were the slimmest and vice versa. Increase in body weight has been reported by to be a symptom of obesity whereas conditions such as diabetes and other eating disorders reduces body weight in normal individuals [6]. Feeding a high sucrose diet does not induce obesity in lean rats or enhance weight gain in obese rats if caloric intake is appropriate [8].

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, antioxidant, and essential co-factor for collagen biosynthesis, carnitine and catecholamine metabolism, and dietary iron absorption [9]. Humans are unable to synthesize vitamin C, so it is strictly obtained through the dietary intake of fruits and vegetables.

Citrus fruits, berries, tomatoes, potatoes, and green leafy vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin C [10]. Although most vitamin C is completely absorbed in the small intestine, the percentage of absorbed vitamin C decreases as intraluminal concentrations increase. A deficiency in vitamin C results in scurvy, which presents with hemorrhage, hyperkeratosis, and hematological abnormalities [11].

It has been reported that high intake of sucrose consumption causes a burst of uric acid production [12]. Hyperuricemia is commonly found in hypertensive and gout patients and this has been reported to be rather due to impaired renal elimination of urate than from it’s over production [13]. The increase in uric acid caused by fructose containing carbohydrates is not only a risk factor associated with heart disease but also appears to be associated with short term and adaptive changes in metabolism consistent with decreased hepatic levels of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which could potentially affect the myriad of metabolic processes dependent on ATP [13]. Feeding of sucrose, at levels that is very high has been shown to increase fasting uric acid levels in hyperinsulinemic subjects and in patient with NIDDM [12].

Sucrose consumption has greatly increased throughout the world. For instance, sucrose has become a fashionable target, so widely consumed in highly refined foods and soft drinks [8]. This is especially true in affluent countries, where half of all the carbohydrate consumed comes majorly from sucrose. Although, it has always been undisputable that two much of everything including sucrose is bad, nutritionists have tend towards clarifying the differences between refined sugar, natural sugar, unrefined sugar, and unprocessed sugar, even on health grounds [14]. Little wonder then that sucrose added to diet has gained greater attention than the one naturally present, for example in fruits. Although there have been claims that sugar (sucrose) in diet aggravate asthma, muster illness, nourish nervous disorders, hasten hypertension; leads to diabetes among other claims [7], at what consumption rate per an individual can sucrose be said to be harmful and how exactly sucrose in our diet does directly or indirectly leads to poor health?. Given all these, it would be justifiable to look critically at the effect of sucrose consumption in our diets on body weight and antioxidant status. The present study investigated the effect of dietary sucrose on body weight and antioxidant status (vitamin C and uric acid) of wister strain of albino rats.

Vitamin C Determination

The vitamins C concentrations in the Serum were determined by the titrimetric method as described by Isam Eldin, et al. 5ml of 2, 6 dichlorophenolindophenol was standardized with standard ascorbic acid using starch as indicator. The ascorbic acid was ran slowly with constant shaking until a red colour was discharged. 3 titrations were done and the average titre value was recorded. 5ml of the dye was transferred into a conical flask and 5 ml of the diluted serum samples were transferred into the same conical flask and the solution was mixed together by shaking the conical flask. The whole mixture was back-titrated with standard ascorbic acid from the burette. One drop of the starch solution was added just before the end point of the reaction is recorded. The whole procedure was repeated for each of the samples from each group (SH, H, M, L, C AND B).

Discussion

Sugar is a type of carbohydrate which provides energy to the body. However, eating too much sugar over time can lead to weight gain. Strong evidence shows that being above a healthy weight increases the risk of developing cancer and chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes [7]. This study was able to investigate the effect dietary sucrose on the body weight and antioxidant status (vitamin c and uric acid) of wister strain of albino rats.

The effect of dietary sucrose on the body weight of the experimental animals showed that rats in the super high group had the highest average body weight (239.30 ± 11.01) compared to all other experimental groups while rats in the baseline group showed the lowest body weight (184.5 ± 26.73) compared to all other experimental groups. This is suggestive of the fact that the more dietary sucrose the experimental rats consume, the more effect it had on their body weight. This result is in tandem with the report of Libuda, et al. [3]. However, he attributed the increase in body weight of the experimental animals to increase in fat accumulation as a result of increase in sucrose consumption in humans. Similarly, there is coherence between our findings and that of Raben, et al. [5]. He and his team observed that even though the weights of the experimental animals increased upon consuming dietary sucrose, there was no significant difference between the body weights of sucrose fed rats. High-sugar diets contribute to prolonged elevated blood sugar, insulin resistance, and leptin resistance — all of which are linked to weight gain and excess body fat [7].

The effect of varying sucrose diets on serum uric acid of the experimental rats in this study showed that uric acid concentration of the experimental rats in the six groups is directly proportional to their sucrose composition intake.

There was a progressive increase in uric acid concentration of the rats across the experimental groups as their sucrose composition intake increased. This observation points to the fact that there is direct correlation between increase in dietary sucrose intake and elevation of uric acid concentration. This observation is consistent with the findings of Kaya, et al. [12]. Sucrose is a disaccharide made up of fructose and glucose, and it is well known that fructose enhances adenine nucleotide degradation, leading to an increase in the plasma concentration of uric acid [12]. Furthermore, it has been reported that as the rate of fructose infusion increases, the serum concentration of urate is also increased [13].

The effect of dietary sucrose on vitamin C concentration of the six groups of experimental animals revealed that vitamin C concentration decreased progressively across the groups as the amount of sucrose in their feed decreased. However, the rats in the control group experienced an increase in vitamin C concentration compared to rats in the baseline group. This is suggestive of the fact that increase in dietary sucrose consumption has significant effect on the concentration of vitamin C. The finding of this study could be attributed to the glucose moiety of sucrose which has a similar structure to that of vitamins C and also uses the same receptors as vitamin C to enter the cell membrane, so eating a lot of sucrose would mean that less vitamin C will be absorbed into the cell membrane because the receptors are already in use [9, 17, 18, 19, 20].

Conclusion

The findings of this research work clearly demonstrate that sucrose consumption has a significant effect on Uric acid and Vitamin C. Since serum vitamin C and uric acid are important factors to be considered as far as arteriosclerosis, coronary heart diseases, gout and hyperuricemia; among other conditions are concerned. Sucrose consumption at very high levels can be said to predispose the subject to the aforementioned conditions. No significant difference was observed in the body weight of the rats used for this study when sucrose consumption was increased. Yet care must be taken because the results clearly indicate a strong detriment effect of sucrose on the cardiovascular well-being of the subjects.