Alterations in Body Weight, Blood Glucose Levels, and Lipid Profiles in High-Fat Diet-Low Dose Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Introduction: New preventive and therapeutic strategies to treat Type 2 diabetes (T2D) continue to be pursued, the complexity of this disease makes it imperative to establish preclinical animal models which must provide accurate similarities to the pathogenesis of diabetes in humans. Making a diabetic animal model using rats with high-fat diet (HFD)-streptozotocin (STZ) induction is popular because it is relatively low cost and simple. Objectives: This study aims to analyse the changes in body weight, blood glucose, and lipid profiles that occur in diabetic rat models created by induction of HFD in combination with lowdose STZ. Methods: This study used forty male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-240 g). After the adaptation period, thirty rats were fed with HFD for 28 days (DM group), while the other ten rats continued to be fed with standard feed (NC group). After then, diabetes was induced to the DM group by low-dose STZ (35 mg/kg BW). The body weight of the rats was measured before and after diet manipulation periods. Blood samples were taken before and after STZ induction to determine lipid profiles and blood glucose levels. Results: During the diet manipulation period, the HFD group experienced a significantly greater weight gain, higher blood glucose levels, and cholesterol (TC) levels. After STZ injection, rats’ blood glucose levels, TC, and triglycerides significantly increased. Conclusion: HFD feeding combined with a low-dose STZ effectively work to mimic specific condition that is similar to T2D, and the stability of the experimental animal conditions remains constant for up to 6 weeks.