Table 1. Anthropometric parameters, glucose and lipid content in plasma and liver of rats fed either a control or a methionine-choline deficient diet.
| CTRL | MCD | P | ||
| Body weight (gr) | d 0 | 405.2±12.1 | 399.0±23.0 | n.s. |
| d 28 | 419.7±34.9 | 339.4±32.5 | <0.01 | |
| Liver weight (gr) | 12.9±2.4 | 16.2±1.6 | <0.05 | |
| Liver/body weight | 0.031±0.002 | 0.053±0.004 | <0.005 | |
| Serum glucose (mg/dL) | d 0 | 189.8±35.1 | 190.1±37.6 | n.s. |
| d 28 | 199.8±38.4 | 128.8±36.2 | <0.05 | |
| Serum triacylglycerols (mg/dL) | d 0 | 310.8±89.1 | 318.1±98.3 | n.s. |
| d 28 | 328.7±110.8 | 38.3±8.8 | <0.001 | |
| Serum cholesterol (mg/dL) | d 0 | 57.6±11.5 | 55.8±12.8 | n.s. |
| d 28 | 56.8±13.4 | 28.1±7.5 | <0.005 | |
| Serum phospholipids (mg/dL) | d 0 | 208.1±24.1 | 210.1±18.3 | n.s. |
| d 28 | 207.7±22.3 | 93.5±16.6 | <0.001 | |
| Serum ALT(U/L) | 39.5±3.9 | 225.3±70.4 | <0.005 | |
| Serum AST(U/L) | 97.5±12.4 | 163.0±36.8 | <0.05 | |
| Hepatic phospholipids(nmol/mg prot) | 54.1±8.3 | 79.0±7.2 | <0.005 | |
| Hepatic triacylglycerols(nmol/mg prot) | 50.5±8.9 | 253.7±31.4 | <0.001 | |
| Hepatic cholesterol (nmol/mg prot) | 12.8±3.0 | 268.5±50.1 | <0.001 | |
| Hepatic glycogen (nmol/mg prot) | 517.5±90.3 | 268.5±50.1 | <0.001 |
Rats were fed a methionine-choline deficient (MCD) or a control (CTRL) diet for 28 days. Data, expressed as means ± SD of five experiments for each group, are referred at the beginning of the study (d0) and after 4 weeks (d28). Statistical differences were assessed using unpaired t-test assuming variance homogeneity.