Effect of Vitamin D Supplements on the Body Weight and Glycaemia in Wistar Rats

Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on the body weight and glycaemia on Wistar rats.

Study Design: Thirty female rats were divided in 3 groups (n=10) according to: G1 - control group, G2 - group treated with vitamin D (6 mg/kg); G3 - group treated with vitamin D (12 g/kg). The experiment lasted for 14 days and during this period the animals were weighed every two days.

Methodology: On the 15th day the animals were anesthetized and euthanized with overdose of intraperitoneal thiopental and blood samples were collected for determination of glycaemia. To the evaluation of variables, we used the one way ANOVA and Tukey tests. The probability of significance considered was 5% (p < 0.05). The correlation analysis between variables was performed using the Pearson coefficient. The probability of significance considered was 5% (p <0.05) for the operations performed.

Results: Our results show that animals receiving vitamin D supplementation had significantly higher blood glucose levels (G2: 152.2±14.23 md/dL and G3: 212.6±53.23 mg/dL) compared to the control group (144.1±32.02 mg/dL) (p <0.0007). No significant differences were found between the three groups regarding the average of weight gain (p = 0.1466).

Conclusion: Our results show negative effects on the glycaemia and body weight especially with higher doses of vitamin D. We suggest that further studies are necessary to outline the actual effects of the supplementation. Besides, the optimal doses also need to be established.