Gas chromatography used to analyse high-fat diet

Scientists have harnessed gas chromatography in order to analyse the effect of high-fat diets on rats.

Published in the Lipids in Health and Disease journal, the study aimed to investigate how gender and macronutrient content can affect weight gain.

Noting that the standard reaction to a high-fat diet is additional weight on the body and hyperphagia, researchers Maria Estrany, Ana Proenza, Isabel Llado and Magdalena Gianotti tested this with two sets of rats for 14 weeks.

One set was given a high-fat diet, while the other was fed a control diet.

Gas chromatography was used to ascertain the fatty acid composition and uncovered that the high-fat feeding led to male specimens developing an increased adiposity index.

"Sexual dimorphism in adiposity index reflects a differential sex response to dietary fatty acid content and could be related to the levels of the proteins involved in tissue lipid management," the scientists conclude.

Lipids in Health and Disease publishes peer-reviewed articles in an open-access format covering a range of subjects related to lipids.