Dietary fat saturation affects hepatocyte insulin binding and glucose metabolism in BHE rats

The influence of feeding 6% hydrogenated coconut oil, corn oil or menhaden oil on hepatocyte insulin binding, receptor number and glucose use was studied. Hepatocytes isolated from rats fed menhaden oil had a significantly greater affinity for insulin than hepatocytes from rats fed hydrogenated coconut oil. Glucose use was not influenced by diet; uniformly labeled glucose was metabolized to CO2 or to lipid similarly in cells isolated from rats fed the three oils. Thus, dietary fat type in a low fat diet influenced events at the plasma membrane without influencing intracellular events.