Absence of effects of dietary wheat bran on the activities of some key enzymes of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in mouse liver and adipose tissue.

1. The effects of a 100 g/kg dietary substitution of wheat bran on the body-weight gain, food consumption and faecal dry weight of mice given a high-sucrose diet and on the activities of some key enzymes of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in liver and adipose tissue were studied. 2. Wheat bran had no effect on body-weight gain, food consumption or faecal dry weight. 3. Wheat bran had no effect on the activities of hepatic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49), 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.44), malate dehydrogenase (oxaloacetate-decarboxylating) (NADP+) (EC 1.1.1.40), ATP-citrate (pro-3S)-lyase (EC 4.1.3.8), pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40) and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11). The activity of hepatic 6-phosphofructokinase (EC 2.7.1.11) increased but only when expressed on a body-weight basis. 4. Wheat bran had no effect on the activities of adipose tissue glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase (oxaloacetate-decarboxylating) (NADP+), ATP-citrate (pro-3S)-lyase, hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.1), 6-phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase. 5. These results suggest that unlike guar gum and bagasse, wheat bran does not change the flux through some pathways of lipogenesis in liver and adipose tissue when mice are given high-sucrose diets.