Fructose supplementation worsens the deleterious effects of short-term high-fat feeding on hepatic steatosis and lipid metabolism in adult rats

The purpose of the present study was to examine the short-term effect of high-fat or high-fat-high-fructose feeding on hepatic lipid metabolism and mitochondrial function in adult sedentary rats. Adult male rats were fed a high-fat or high-fat-high-fructose diet for 2 weeks. Body and liver composition, hepatic steatosis, plasma lipid profile and hepatic insulin sensitivity, together with whole-body and hepatic de novo lipogenesis, were assessed. Hepatic mitochondrial mass, functionality, oxidative stress and antioxidant defense were also measured. Rats fed the high-fat-high-fructose diet exhibited significantly higher plasma triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids, insulin and indexes of hepatic insulin resistance compared with rats fed a low-fat or a high-fat diet. Hepatic triglycerides and ceramide, as well as the degree of steatosis and necrosis, were significantly higher, while liver p-Akt was significantly lower, in rats fed high-fat-high-fructose diet than in rats fed high-fat diet. A significant increase in non-protein respiratory quotient and hepatic fatty acid synthase and stearoyl CoA desaturase activity was found in rats fed the high-fat-high-fructose diet compared with those fed the high-fat diet. Significantly lower mitochondrial oxidative capacity but significantly higher oxidative stress was found in rats fed high-fat and high-fat-high-fructose diets compared with rats fed low-fat diet, while mitochondrial mass significantly increased only in rats fed high-fat-high-fructose diet. In conclusion, short-term consumption of a Western diet, rich in saturated fats and fructose, is more conducive to the development of liver steatosis and deleterious to glucose homeostasis than a high-fat diet.