Effect of high salt intake on plasma lipid profile in pregnant wistar rats

Many physiological and behavioral changes take place during pregnancy to ensure the growth and development of a healthy fetus. This study investigates the effects of high maternal salt intake during pregnancy on lipid parameters in Wistar rats. Twenty female Wistar albino rats (200-250 g) were used for the study. The rats were time-mated and day 1 of pregnancy was determined by the presence of spermatozoa after a vaginal lavage. Animals were then randomly divided into two groups: a standard control diet and high-salt diet (8% NaCl) of 10 rats each. On the 19^th day, the animals were fasted overnight and sacrificed under anaesthesia. Blood samples were collected via cardiac puncture for determination of lipid parameters triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c), and very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-c) using enzymatic colorimetric method. Atherogenic indices, triglyceride/HDL-C (TG/HDL-C) and total cholesterol/HDL-C (TC/HDL-C) ratios were calculated. SPSS 21.0 package was used for data analysis and level of significance was analyzed using student t-test. Significance was set at P<0.05. Result showed significant (P<0.05) increases in plasma level of TG, TC, LDL-C VLDL-C, TG/HDL-C and TC/HDL-C ratios in high salt fed pregnant rats compared to control. No significant (P>0.05) change was observed in HDL-C level in high salt fed pregnant rats when compared with control. High salt intake during pregnancy has detrimental effect on maternal lipid profile which can threaten both maternal and the fetal life.