Effects of Acarbose on Luminal Carbohydrate Uptake, Energy Intake, and Plasma Glycemic and Lipid Profiles in Wistar Fatty Rats

The chronic ingestion of insulinogenic simple carbohydrate meals can impede glycemic and lipid parameters in man and animals and contribute to the development of pathophysiologic sequela. To determine the effects of modulation of luminal glucose uptake on plasma glycemic and lipid profiles, groups of adult male lean and obese+NIDDM Wistar Fatty Rats were fed nutritionally complete diets where the carbohydrate was provided as cooked cornstarch (CS), sucrose (SU), or the SU diet containing an admixture of the luminal -glucosidase inhibitor compound acarbose (ACB, 150 mg/kg diet) from 22 to 30 weeks of age. Measures of body weight, caloric intake, fasting Insulin to glucose (I: G) ratios, and plasma cholesterol (CHOL), triglyceride (TG) and Alpha (LDL) and Beta (HDL) Lipoprotein concentrations were determined after 8 weeks of the dietary regimen. The obese+NIDDM phenotype had higher food intake and weight gain than the lean phenotype, which increased with the SU diet. Weight gains in lean and obese+NIDDM rats fed the SU+ACB diet were comparable to those in rats of the same phenotype fed the ST diet. Fasting I:G ratios in Obese+NIDDM rats were higher than in ST fed rats fed the ACB diet. Plasma CHOL and TG concentrations were higher in both sexes of obese+NIDDM rats, and ACB was related with modest decreases in CHOL concentrations in both lean and obese+NIDDM rats. The ACB had no negative side effects in either phenotype. These findings suggest that luminal inhibition of carbohydrate digestion via -glucoside inhibition was linked to improvements in I:G ratios and plasma lipid profiles comparable to those seen with the complex CHO ST diet, and that it could be a safe and useful adjunct in the treatment of carbohydrate intolerant states.