Zinc and Selenium Co-supplementation Reduces Some Lipid Peroxidation and Angiogenesis Markers in a Rat Model of NAFLD-Fed High Fat Diet

Studies have shown that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients are more prone to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Zinc and selenium deficiency are common in NAFLD. But the effects of zinc and selenium co-supplementation before and/or after disease progression on CVD markers are not clear in NAFLD patients. This study aimed to compare the effects of zinc and selenium co-supplementation before and/or after disease progression on some of the CVD markers in an experimental model of NAFLD. Forty male Sprague Dawley rats (197 ± 4 g) were randomly assigned into four dietary groups: control group (C; received 9 of calorie as fat), model group (M; received 82 of calorie as fat), and supplementation before (BS) or after (AS) disease progression. Animals were fed diets for 20 weeks in all groups. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin, HOMA-IR, ALT, AST, lipid profile, malondialdehyde (MDA) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were measured as CVD indices. Serum ALT, AST, FPG, insulin, MDA, VEGF and HOMA-IR were significantly higher in the M than C group. Co-supplementation reduced serum ALT and AST levels in the BS and AS groups compared with the M group. FPG, insulin, HOMA-IR, VEGF, MDA, LDL/HDL-c and TC/HDL-c ratio were significantly reduced in the AS compared with the M group. TG/HDL-c ratio was significantly reduced in the BS and AS compared with the M group. Serum MDA, VEGF, Insulin and HOMA-IR were significantly lowered in the AS than BS group (pÂ