Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, Vol 51, Issue 4 B270-B275, Copyright © 1996 by The Gerontological Society of America
A study of low-nutrient diets used for aging studies in the rat
F Norido, C Fiorito, C Zoja, D Corna, T Bertani and ME Coates
FIDIA Research Laboratories, Abano Terme, Italy.
The effects of diets of low caloric value on rats used in aging studies
were investigated. Groups of 85 Sprague-Dawley rats were fed ad libitum
from 3 months of age on three different diets containing 8 or 10 Megajoule
(MJ) of metabolizable energy and 80 or 100 g of crude protein/kg. Body
weights, food consumption, and morphological and biochemical parameters
were monitored throughout life. Kidneys were examined histologically. Rats
given the diet with highest energy and protein ate less food, attained
greater weights, and had larger abdominal fat deposits than those on the
lower energy diets. They had a raised proteinuria, and nearly half
developed glomerulosclerosis and tubulo-interstitial damage by 26 months.
There was no significant difference in mortality between the groups, and no
other serious abnormalities were observed. It is concluded that rats can be
maintained into old age with no signs of nutritional inadequacy on diets
with lower energy and protein contents than those in general use.
