Blood and liver metabolites in fed and fasted diabetic goats

Two trials were to study alloxan diabetes in goats. The data were grouped: 1) normal fed goats (10); 2) 48-h fasted goats (5); 3) fed goats sampled 96 h after alloxan treatment (5); and 4) goats treated with alloxan following a 48-h fast and sampled 96 h after alloxan treatment with continued fasting (3). Groups 1 and 4 exhibited the following means: serum insulin 43.9, 16.4, 9.4, and 6.7 muU/ml; blood glucose 55.0, 47.3, 219.6, and 485.6 mg/100 ml; blood ketones 4.3, 2.6, 36.6, and 28.6 mg/100 ml; blood acetate 4.7, 4.0, 42.7, and 4.9 mg/100 ml; plasma-free fatty acids 1.8, 10.0, 14.4, and 40.5 mg/100 ml; and plasma triglyceride 13.3, 7.0, 47.6, and 12.2 mg/100 ml. Liver samples from five fed goats before and 12 days after alloxan treatment exhibited the following means: phospholipid 27.5 and 26.1 mg/g; triglyceride 21.2 and 98.9 mg/g; and percent lipid 7.2 and 14.4. The diabetes was accompanied by fatty liver development and probably reduction in utilization of acetate and triglyceride in the fed animals.