Effects of trace acrylamide intake in Wistar rats.

Frying oil in use of cooking may contain acrylamide formed from frying foodstuffs. We have reported that administration of a diet containing 7% practically used frying oil for 12 weeks damaged liver and kidneys severely in Wistar rats. Then, male Wistar rats were fed ad libitum for 12 weeks a powdered diet (AIN93G; no fat) containing 7 wt% of fresh oil (control group) or frying oil heated with Asn + glucose for 20 h at 180 degrees C under a nitrogen flow in order to form acrylamide under the least thermal deterioration (experimental group). The rats were subjected to anthropometric measurements, hematological analyses, and observations of the liver and kidneys. All of the rats grew well, and no gross symptoms attributable to the experimental oil were observed. But the experimental rats had significantly low insulin and triacylglycerol levels. The liver and kidneys from the experimental rats had damages, but the degree of the histological changes looked lighter than that of the rats fed practically used frying oil described above. The serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were also not much increased. Thus, it was suggested that continuous intake of trace acrylamide induced characteristically low serum insulin level and that the effects of the used frying oil on the liver and kidneys were hardly attributable to acrylamide possibly contained therein.