Effect of L-glutamine on obesity and insulin resistance in high-fat diet-induced C57BL/6J mice

AIM:To explore the effect of L-glutamine (Gln) on obesity and insulin resistance in high-fat diet(HFD)-induced C57BL/6J mice. METHODS:Male C57BL/6J mice (n=60) were randomly divided into normal control (NC) group, HFD group, HFD+L-alanine (Ala) group and HFD+Gln group. Each group had 15 mice. The body weight of the mice was recorded weekly. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) of the mice was tested after 12-h fasting only with water-drinking at the end of the 16th week. The mice were sacrificed and epididymal fat pad was measured. The levels of insulin (INS), leptin (LEP), adiponectin (APN) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) were measured by ELISA. The insulin resistance index (IRI) and insulin sensitivity index (ISI) were calculated. RESULTS:Compared with NC group, the body weight, epididymal fat pad weight, and the levels of FBG, INS, IRI and LEP increased significantly in HFD group (P<0.05), while the levels of ISI and APN decreased significantly (P<0.05). Compared with HFD group, the body weight, and the levels of FBG, IRI and LEP decreased significantly in HFD+Gln group (P<0.05), while the levels of ISI and APN increased significantly (P<0.05). No significant difference of serum GLP-1 levels the four groups was observed. CONCLUSION:L-glutamine reduces the body weight and attenuates the insulin resistance of HFD-induced mice.