ABSTRACT
AIMS: Liver cirrhosis is the main chronic liver disease and is considered a catabolic disease. Cirrhotic patients have a low energy intake and high energy expenditure at rest, leading to metabolic disorders. Malnutrition is associated with complications of cirrhosis and has been shown that a nutritional intervention with increase of energy intake improves the survival of cirrhotic patients. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate the effect of a high sucrose diet in the liver of animals with cirrhosis induced by thioacetamide and investigate the mechanism involved. MAIN METHODS: Male Wistar rats were divided into three groups: Control; Thioacetamide; and Thioacetamide + high sucrose diet. The thioacetamide was administrated (100 mg kg-1) intraperitoneally and the sucrose was offered in drinking water (300 g L-1). KEY FINDINGS: The administration of thioacetamide was associated with fibrosis and inflammatory infiltrate in the liver and increased levels of transaminases enzymes. The high sucrose diet promoted a reduction of theses parameters in cirrhotic rats. The malnutrition observed in cirrhotic rats was attenuated by the high sucrose diet shown by the improvements in weight loss, subcutaneous fat, and caloric intake. The high sucrose diet also attenuated the oxidative stress present in the liver of animals with thioacetamide-induced cirrhosis. SIGNIFICANCE: The high sucrose diet had anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects in the liver of animals with thioacetamide-induced cirrhosis. In addition, the high sucrose diet also improved malnutrition and catabolism present in cirrhosis. Thus, a high sucrose diet may be a therapeutic option for cirrhotic patients in a catabolic state.
