High-fat-low-carbohydrate diet Applied to Mice: A Model for Studying Physiological and Histological Changes in the Liver and Pancreas

The high-fat-low-carbohydrate diet (HFLCD) is an efficient diet for reducing body weight, with increased satiety and diminishing energy consumption. HFLCD commonly contains 20% of carbohydrates, more than 50% of fat and insignificant amounts of protein. Low-carbohydrate diets restrict the intake of food groups like legumes, fruits, sugars, starchy foods, and whole grains; this food groups considered as foundation of the globally recognized food pyramid that promotes long-term health. This study aimed to determine the effects of a HFLCD on metabolic function of the liver and pancreas in a mouse model. Sixty albino mice were used and divided into six groups (each group containing 10 mice). In the beginning of the experiment, forty mice were fed a high-fat -high-carbohydrate (HFHC) diet for 12 weeks to enhance gaining weight; then the four groups were fed a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet (HFLC), while the other two groups were considered as control groups. For sample collection, animals were sacrificed and blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis, tissue samples were taken for histopathological assay. The result of this study showed that mice fed a high-fat-low-carbohydrate diet had high levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and cholesterol in the blood serum. In addition, the level of triglycerides and blood glucose decreased in the same groups. Histopathological study showed severe fatty changes that led to edema and degeneration of hepatocytes in the periportal area due to degeneration of the microvasculature and the formation of bridging fibrosis between the central hepatic lobes and the peripheral area in the HFLCD group. The tissue sections of the pancreas did not show any signs of pathology. We conclude that long-term administration of HFLC affects histologically and functionally in mice liver.