Effects of corn oil addition to the diet on the energy metabolism of heart, liver and kidney of female rats.

Female rats (SIV-50, Sprague Dawley) given a diet enriched with corn oil (10% and 25% addition to rat chow, w/w) for four weeks showed changes in the energy metabolism of heart, liver and kidneys, that is, changes in oxygen consumption and uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation of heart, liver and kidney mitochondria, concomitant to a decrease in heart mitochondrial creatine kinase activity and an increase in heart mitochondrial creatine content. The high fat diet also affected calcium binding and Na/K-, Mg- and Ca-ATPases of a cardiac myocyte membrane fraction. Lipid feeding also led to increase (biphasic and transient) of phospholipids, triglycerides and free fatty acids in the three organs studied, but in no case to hypertrophy.