Diet-induced changes in selected clinical chemistry parameters in M. fascicularis

Thirty-six male M. fascicularis monkeys were fed a basal diet (180 g/day, 24% protein, 38% carbohydrate and 20% fat) for a period of 17 months. At that time, the animals were divided into two groups. One group (6 animals) continued on the basal diet (BASAL group), while the others (30 animals) received an atherogenic diet (ATHER group) containing 4.08 g/kg cholesterol. Blood samples were drawn for clinical chemistry analyses. Serum cholesterol rose dramatically in the ATHER group, an average increase of 350 mg/dl over basal-diet values after two weeks on the atherogenic diet. Serum triglycerides followed the same pattern. HDL-cholesterol in the atherogenic-diet group decreased sharply. These animals also had slightly elevated BUN, uric acid and SGOT levels. Skin lipid xanthomas were also observed in the ATHER group, but were absent in animals fed the basal diet. Body weight among all animals remained relatively constant. Minimal changes in clinical chemistry values other than those noted above are evidence of the low physiological stress placed on the animals by this dietary regimen.