BIOCHEMICAL EFFECT OF A HIGH DOSE OF THAUMATIN IN WISTAR RATS

Objective: The aim of this work was to investigate the capability of a high dose of thaumatin; a sweet tasting protein, of improving induced protein malnutrition in male Wistar rats.Methods: For this study, 12 rats were divided into 2 groups and treated orally along with a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet as follows: water group as a negative control, and thaumatin group at a dose of 464 mg/kg for 3 consecutive w. Blood samples were collected to analyse glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and total protein, and body weight was measured. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was carried out at the end of the experiment.Results: Despite the high amount of thaumatin used, only a slight increase in blood glucose occurred and was within the normal range, whereas serum triglycerides and cholesterol decreased significantly unlike control. Body weight had declined in both groups due to a low-protein diet, while total protein and glucose tolerance remained unchanged.Conclusion: It is found that thaumatin is safe to consume by Wistar rats even at high doses. Besides that high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet caused falling of body weight, it had drawbacks of increased triglycerides and cholesterol levels which can be useful to create animal models of abnormal lipid metabolism without obesity. However, simultaneous ingestion of thaumatin with this diet had altered the outcomes to the best case. In future, it may be possible to use this combination for achieving healthy eating patterns without drug intervention that is needed for obese patients with various dysglycemia or dyslipidemia manifestations and people following regimes for weight reduction.