Niacin improves adiponectin secretion, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in diet-induced obese rats

•High-fat diet-fed obese rats supplemented with niacin were studied.•Visceral adiposity, lipid profile and adiponectin concentration were superior.•Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity show marked improvement.

The present study examined the effect of dietary niacin supplementation on fat mass, glucose control, insulin sensitivity, lipid profile, and adiponectin level in diet-induced obese rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 21) were initially divided into 2 groups of seven and fourteen rats; the group of 14 rats was fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) and the other group of 7 rats consumed the control diet. Eight weeks after the diet regimen started, half of the rats from the HFD group were shifted to the niacin-supplemented diet (HFND; 1 mg niacin/kg diet) while the remaining rats continued on the HFD for another 6 weeks. Results obtained showed that HFD-fed obese rats exhibited significant increase in body weight gain, reduced glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and increased adiposity, as well as altered lipid profile after 8 weeks of feeding compared with the controls. However, niacin-supplemented rats showed reduced weight gain and body weight compared with HFD-induced obese rats even in the absence of a significant difference in the food intake among the groups in the experiment. In addition, the rats showed an improved time-course glucose control and insulin sensitivity as demonstrated by a significantly lower area under curve (AUC) values for the glucose curves. The plasma levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoprotein (LDL) returned towards control values in rats supplemented with niacin compared with obese rats. The findings suggest that niacin exerts beneficial effect on adiposity, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, and plasma lipids, and that it specifically modulates the level of serum adiponectin under obese condition.