Dietary chromium decreases insulin resistance in rats fed a high-fat, mineral-imbalanced diet

The effects of chromium (Cr) supplementation on diet-induced insulin resistance produced by feeding a high-fat, low-Cr diet were studied in rats to ascertain the role of Cr in insulin resistance. Wistar male rats were maintained for 16 weeks after weaning on a basal diet containing 40% lard, 30% sucrose, and 25% casein by weight and adequate vitamins and minerals without added Cr (-Cr). Fasting levels of insulin, glucose, and triglycerides and the responses during an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) were compared as indices of insulin resistance and the effectiveness of dietary Cr. IVGTTs and blood sampling for data analyses were performed over a 40-minute period after IV glucose injection (1.25 g/kg body weight) in overnight-fasted animals under pentobarbital anesthesia (40 mg/kg body weight). All animals were normoglycemic (-Cr, 109 +/- 3 mg/dL; +Cr, 119 +/- 5), with fasting insulin levels elevated in the -Cr group (65 +/- 10 microU/mL) versus the +Cr group (31 +/- 4 microU/mL). Increases in plasma triglycerides in the -Cr group were not significant. Following glucose injection, the rate of glucose clearance was lower in the -Cr group (1.74 +/- 0.22 v2.39 +/- 0.11%/min), and 40-minute glucose areas in the -Cr group tended to be higher than in the +Cr group. The insulin response to glucose injection was 20% higher in the -Cr group. Forty-minute plasma triglyceride areas were lower in +Cr rats (875 +/- 62 v 1,143 +/- 97 mg/dL.min in -Cr rats). These data demonstrate that the insulin resistance induced by feeding a high-fat, nutrient-stressed diet is improved by Cr.