Accumulation of sorbitol in copper deficiency: dependency on gender and type of dietary carbohydrate

The present study was designed to examine tissue sorbitol levels in copper-deficient rats consuming dietary fructose as the only source of carbohydrate and to determine if any changes in tissue sorbitol levels are influenced by the sex of the rat. Tissue levels of glucose, sorbitol, fructose, and glyceraldehyde were measured along with the activities of aldose reductase and sorbitol dehydrogenase of male and female rats consuming copper-deficient or adequate diets containing either fructose or starch for 3 weeks. Regardless of copper status, sorbitol accumulated in the livers of males consuming fructose compared to females and to males eating starch. The greatest sorbitol accumulation in the kidney occurred in the copper-deficient male rat consuming the fructose diet. These results strongly suggest that the pathology and complications of copper deficiency in the male rat fed fructose may be due to the increased sorbitol contents of tissues.