Background:

Pine nus have an outstanding nutritional value.

Objective:

To evaluate the effect of the intake of pine nuts on body and organ weight gain in rats fed a high fat diet.

Materials and Methods:

24 male Sprague Dawley rats were fed control diet, high fat diet, or high fat with 2 % pine nuts, (n=8 per group). After 28 days the animals were weighed and killed, and mesenteric, retroperitoneal, inguinal, and epididimal fat pads were weighed as well as liver, kidneys, and heart.

Results: The intake of high fat and high fat with 2 % pine nuts diets was similar and lower than fed control diet (p<0.05). Rats fed high fat with 2 % pine nuts exhibited higher weight gain and final body weight (p<0.05). The dietary efficiency of high fat and high fat with 2 % pine nuts diets were higher than fed control (p<0.05). The relative weights of liver, heart, kidneys and fat pads were similar in all groups.

Conclusion:

High fat intake generates higher body fat gain compared with an isocaloric control diet. High fat with 2% pine nuts diet did not affect body weight gain, relative organ weight, or fat pads weight compared with high fat diet.

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