Carrot Juice Consumption Reduces High Fructose-Induced Adiposity in Rats and Body Weight and BMI in Type 2 Diabetic Subjects

Nutritional intervention is a key strategy in the control and management of non-communicable diseases. Here, initially, we evaluated the effects of carrot juice (CJ) on some of the physical and biochemical parameters in rats fed with high-fructose diet, then in type 2 diabetic subjects. For the animal study, weanling male Wistar rats were given control (n = 6) or high fructose (HFr; n = 24) diet for 8 weeks. Then, the HFr group rats were subdivided into 4 groups (n = 6 in each) and continued either on HFr diet or shifted to control diet, with or without CJ (0.3 mg β-carotene) ingestion orally for 8 weeks. At the end, the ingestion of CJ reversed the HFr-induced adiposity (23 ± 1.6 vs 18 ± 1.1, P = .038), hypertriglyceridemia (182 ± 18.2 vs 90 ± 10.5 mg/dL, P<0.001), and hyperinsulinemia (81 ± 14.7 vs 40 ± 7.5 µU/mL, P = .014), while increased the retinol levels in liver (240 ± 38.4 vs 492 ± 61.2 µg/g, P = .002) and adipose tissue (1.8 ± 0.09 vs 2.5 ± 0.18 µg/g, P = .026). On the other hand, in the diabetic subjects (7 males and females each, n = 14) compared to their baseline, the daily consumption of 50 mL CJ (~2400 µg β-carotene) for 6 weeks significantly reduced the body weight (69.4 ± 4.13 vs 69.0 ± 4.09 kg, P = .014), BMI (27.4 ± 1.07 vs 27.2 ± 1.06 kg/m(2), P = .007), and fat% (33.4 ± 1.87 vs 31.9 ± 2.13, P = .029) with an increase in plasma β-carotene levels (0.21 ± 0.045 vs 0.45 ± 0.089 µmol/L, P = .044). Although CJ increased the glucose (145 ± 10.4 vs 165 ± 11.4 mg/dL, P = .039), insulin, and glycated hemoglobin levels remained unaltered. In conclusion, the consumption of carrot juice reversed the HFr-induced metabolic abnormalities in a rat model and decreased body weight and BMI of diabetic subjects.