International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research (IJVNR) is published by IMR Press from Volume 95 Issue 1 (2025). Previous articles were published by another publisher under a hybrid publishing model, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Hogrefe.
Boric acid and Borax Supplementation Reduces Weight Gain in Overweight Rats and Alter L-Carnitine and IGF-I Levels
1 Departments of Chemistry, Division of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Letter, Kafkas University, Kars, Turkey.
2 Department of Pharmacy Services, Tuzluca Vocational High School, Igdır University, Igdır-Turkey.
3 Ibrahim Cecen Univ Agri, Cent Res & Applicat Lab, TR-04100 Agri, Turkey.
4 Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Kafkas University, Kars, Turkey.
5 Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, Turkey.
6 Departments of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Turkey.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of boric acid (BA) and borax (BX) on live weight and obesity associated molecules including leptin, L-carnitine, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I), and heat shock proteins 70 (HSP70) in rats fed with high-fat diet. A total of 60 rats were equally allocated as ND (normal diet), HF (high-fat diet), HF+BA, HF+BX, ND+BX, ND+BA. Body weight increases in HF+BA (85 g) and HF+BX (86 g) were significantly lower (p<0.05) compared to HF group (126 g). Boron treatment decreased serum L-carnitine level in high-fat diet (HF+BA 11.12 mg/L, HF+BX 10.51 mg/L, p<0.05) compared to HF group (15.57 mg/L), while no change was observed in groups ND+BA (7.55 mg/L) and ND+BX (7.57 mg/L) compared to group ND (8.29 mg/L). Neither BA nor BX supplementation in ND and HF groups altered the serum levels of HSP70 and leptin. BA and BX supplementation in rats fed HF resulted in a significant reduction in live weight. Boron compounds altered L-carnitine and IGF-1 levels in rats. These results indicate that boron compounds are beneficial in the treatment of obesity as well as in the prevention of high-fat diet-induced weight increase. Alterations in serum L-carnitine and IGF-1 levels in boron treated rats also indicate possible role of boron compounds in energy metabolism in response to high fat diet.
Keywords
- Boron compounds
- HSP70
- High-fat diet
- IGF-1
- L-Carnitine
- Leptin