Background: Metabolic syndrome can be caused by modification of diet by means of consumption of high carbohydrate and high fat diet such as fructose.
Aims: To develop a metabolic syndrome rat model by induction of fructose drinking water (FDW) in male Wistar rats.
Methods: Eighteen male Wistar rats were fed with FDW 20% and FDW 25% for a duration of eight weeks. The physiological changes with regard to food and fluid intake, as well as calorie intake, were measured. The metabolic changes such as obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, and hyperglycaemia were determined. Data was presented in mean ± SEM subjected to one-way ANOVA.
Results: Male Wistar rats fed with FDW 20% for eight weeks developed significant higher obesity parameters compared to those fed with FDW 25%. There was hypertrophy of adipocytes in F20 and F25. There were also systolic hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperglycemia in both groups.
Conclusion: We conclude that the metabolic syndrome rat model is best established with the induction of FDW 20% for eight weeks. This was evident in the form of higher obesity parameter which caused the development of the metabolic syndrome.