Dietary Carbohydrates and Possible Pre-lesion Biochemical Changes in the Aortas of Adult Male Rats

Abstract

Aortic homogenates from adult male rats were explored by biochemical methods for pre-lesion changes in association with high carbohydrate diets and with starvation-refeeding. Supporting tests included assays for certain blood lipids and for liver glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity. The liver data indicated overinduction of this enzyme by the high carbohydrate diets; the ratio of free cholesterol to phospholipids in the blood increased during starvation and especially with a high glucose diet, and both of these treatments appeared to produce aortic changes. Reports of similar studies have not been found, and some difficulties of interpretation are discussed. It is suggested that this type of approach may prove fruitful in the search for evidence concerning nutritional contributions to the etiology of cardiovascular disease.