Investigation of growth performance, lipid profile, and liver histotexure of mice treated with butyric acid

Obesity is a pandemic which adds greatly to health care costs through its association with type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and cancers. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of different concentrations of butyric acid on changes of body weight, blood biochemical parameters, and liver histotexture in mice. Total twenty Swiss albino mice were divided into 4 groups viz Group A, B, C and D. Group A act as control while Group B, Group C and Group D were received 3, 5, and 7 mM/kg body weight butyric acid respectively, throughout the experimental period. On the 60th day, blood and liver samples were collected for biochemical analysis and histopathology respectively. Results showed that body weight increased significantly (p<0.05) in Group C and D compared to control. The total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) were significantly higher in Group B (p<0.05) and D (p<0.01) compared to the control group. The high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was increased significantly (p<0.05) in Group D whereas no significant changes were found in low density lipoprotein (LDL) level compared to control. The serum glucose was significantly higher in Group B, C (p<0.05) and D(p<0.01) than control group. In histopathological studies, liver of group B showed slight hepatocellular degeneration whereas group C and D showed vacuolation of hepatocytes. From the above findings it can be concluded that higher concentration of butyric acid may cause rise in body weight, the lipid profile and degenerative hepatocellular changes in mice, whereas lower concentration did not make significant changes.