Effect of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and fasting on body weight and lipid parameters in rats

This study compared the effect of fasting (feed deprivation) and the effect of exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on body weight and on key lipid parameters. The time-course study indicated a statistically significant (p less than 0.05) body weight loss in the TCDD-exposed rats 5 days after the oral administration of corn oil with TCDD (60 micrograms/kg body wt). Animals demonstrated a 10% body weight decrease either 1 week after this TCDD administration or after 72 hr of fasting. Marked increases in serum triglyceride and cholesterol were observed only in the TCDD-exposed rats, but not in the 0- or 72-hr fasted control rats. These results indicated that some body weight loss and decreased feed consumption occurred after TCDD exposure, but that the metabolic response, with respect to serum lipid metabolism, was not that of a control rat that had lost a similar amount of body weight due solely to fasting.