title: The Effects of Dietary Iron and Capsaicin on Hemoglobin, Blood Glucose, Insulin Tolerance, Cholesterol, and Triglycerides, in Healthy and Diabetic Wistar Rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to assess the effects of dietary iron, and the compound capsaicin, on hemoglobin as well as metabolic indicators including blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, and glucose tolerance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our animal model was the Wistar rat, fed a chow diet, with or without experimentally induced diabetes. Diabetic males were fed control, low, or high-iron diets, the latter, with or without capsaicin. Healthy rats were fed identical diets, but without the capsaicin supplement. We then measured the parameters listed above, using the Student t-test and ANOVA, to compare groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Healthy rats fed a low-iron diet exhibited significantly reduced total cholesterol and triglyceride levels, compared with rats fed a control diet. Significantly reduced blood lipid was also provoked by low dietary iron in diabetic rats, compared with those fed a control diet. Insulin, and glucose tolerance was only improved in healthy rats fed the low-iron diet. Significant increases in total cholesterol were found in diabetic rats fed a high-iron diet, compared with healthy rats fed the same diet, although no statistical differences were found for triglycerides. Hemoglobin levels, which were not statistically different in diabetic versus healthy rats fed the high-iron diet, fell when capsaicin was added. Capsaicin also provoked a fall in the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in diabetic animals, versus diabetics fed with the high iron diet alone. In conclusion, low levels of dietary iron reduced levels of serum triglycerides, hemoglobin, and cholesterol, and significantly improved insulin, and glucose tolerance in healthy rats. In contrast, a high-iron diet increased cholesterol significantly, with no significant changes to triglyceride concentrations. The addition of capsaicin to the high-iron diet (for diabetic rats) further reduced levels of hemoglobin, cholesterol, and triglycerides. These results suggest that capsaicin, may be suitable for the treatment of elevated hemoglobin, in patients.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Dr. Enrico Stefani, Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Colima, Col. Villas San Sebastián, Colima, Colima, México.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Márquez-Ibarra
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Dr. Enrico Stefani, Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Colima, Col. Villas San Sebastián, Colima, Colima, México.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huerta
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Nutrición y Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Universidad No. 655 Colonia Santa María Ahuacatitlán, Cerrada Los Pinos y Caminera C.P., Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Villalpando-Hernández
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Dr. Enrico Stefani, Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Colima, Col. Villas San Sebastián, Colima, Colima, México.
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ríos-Silva
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Dr. Enrico Stefani, Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Colima, Col. Villas San Sebastián, Colima, Colima, México.
authors.forename: María I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Díaz-Reval
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Dr. Enrico Stefani, Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Colima, Col. Villas San Sebastián, Colima, Colima, México.
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cruzblanca
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Dr. Enrico Stefani, Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Colima, Col. Villas San Sebastián, Colima, Colima, México.
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mancilla
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Dr. Enrico Stefani, Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Colima, Col. Villas San Sebastián, Colima, Colima, México.
authors.forename: Xóchitl
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7506-1674
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Trujillo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002211:Capsaicin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D019266:Iron, Dietary / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D006454:Hemoglobins; D019266:Iron, Dietary; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol; D002211:Capsaicin