Our objective was to establish a diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) model in rats using a high-fat diet and streptozotocin (HF-STZ). Male Wistar rats (240-250g) were divided into a control group ...(commercial feed), and HF-STZ group, (66.5%-commercial feed, 13.5%-lard, and 20%-sugar). STZ (40mg/kg i.p.) or vehicle was administered on the 13th day. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed (2.5mg of glucose/kg v.o.) on both groups. After 39 days of treatment, blood and tissue samples were collected for analyses. The weight gain after STZ administration was lower in the HF-STZ group than in the control group with reductions in muscle mass and adipose tissue. The HF-STZ group showed hyperglycemia after STZ administration (glucose on day 39: HF-STZ: 499 ± 60; control: 134 ± 9mg/dL). Serum glucagon was 23% lower, and insulin levels were unaltered. The HOMA index was 4-times higher in the HF-STZ. The HF-STZ group showed increased post-prandial (330%) and fasting (125%) triglycerides, and while glycogen content in the liver and muscles decreased (70-80%). The area under the curve (OGTT) was 282% higher in the HF-STZ group. The combination of high-fat diet with STZ (i.p) generated rats with hyperglycemia associated with hypertriglyceridemia and introduced many other alterations present in human DM2.
In soaked soils there is an increase in the availability of iron and manganese. Thus, it becomes important to investigate the tolerance levels of plants to excess of these nutrients. The objective ...was to evaluate the tolerance of Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu cultivated in nutrient solution with different levels of iron and manganese. The experimental design was completely randomized with seven treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of a nutrient solution and consisted of: 1- adequate concentration of Fe (8.22 mM) and Mn (2.05 mM); 2– Fe, four times the adequate concentration; 3– Fe, eight times the adequate concentration; 4– Mn, four times the adequate concentration; 5– Mn, eight times the adequate concentration; 6– Fe and Mn, four times the appropriate concentration, and; 7– Fe and Mn, eight times the appropriate concentration. The variables evaluated were visual diagnosis (symptomatology), shoot height, root volume, Fe and Mn content in shoots and dry mass production. Grass plants were not tolerant to excess Fe and Mn. The excess of nutrients promoted less development of the root system, with a reduction in volume and dry mass, and the treatment with the highest dose of nutrients resulted in the lowest values. Grass plants were sensitive to the increase in nutrient concentrations, showing reductions in total dry mass production of 55% for treatment with the application of the highest concentration of nutrients in relation to the adequate dose of Fe and Mn.