Increased risk of primary ovarian insufficiency by high-fructose diet consumption: a 90-day study in female rats

There is ambiguous evidence that high-fructose diet can induce toxicity in different organ systems but its endocrine disrupting effects by abnormal changes in female reproductive organs is poorly evidenced. This study aimed to address the reproductive safety of high fructose diet through clinical, biochemical, hormonal, histopathological, and immunohistochemical analysis. For this purpose, 5–6 weeks mature female Wistar rats were divided in three groups and each five animals/group exposed to standard chow + water + HFCS-55, standard chow + water + sucrose 75%w/v and standard chow + water for 90 days. Remarkable increase in most lipid profile factors and total body weights of HFCS-55 fed rats and sucrose fed rats were detected in similar pattern compared to control. At the same time, a battery of differential signs and symptoms in HFCS-fed groups including squamous metaplasia in the uterine tissue and ovarian congestion, significant increase in FSH and LH levels, meaningful decreased serum testosterone and 17β-estradiol levels, and strong androgen receptor expression in ovaries and uterine of HFCS group of animals were recorded compared to other two study groups. These thought-provoking signs and signals of fructose induced reproductive toxicity in this model emphasis the contribution of HFCS-55 to deteriorated ovarian and endometrial health and increased risk primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) in women. Similar content being viewed by others Data availability All data and materials are available upon journal request.

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The authors are thankful from Zar Fructose Co., Ltd., Tehran, Iran, for providing our study samples. The authors also acknowledge Dr. Hasti Azar Abad as the veterinary pathologist of the present study for her excellent supports of histopathological studies. We acknowledge cancer Institute of Iran for supporting immunohistochemical analysis. Author information Authors and Affiliations Contributions RM performed all animal studies and lab as part of her PhD thesis. She read and approved the manuscript before submission. SAB is the main supervisor of this study who planned, designed the work, conducted, performed the statistical analysis, and provided the manuscript. RK was the second supervisor of this PhD study who suggested the main topic and contributed in planning and study design execution of HFCS-55. SS and HAA were co-advisors of this PhD program who were contributed to all parts of this study. Corresponding author Ethics declarations Ethical approval This study was approved by the ethics committee of Islamic Azad University, Tehran Medical Sciences (IAUTMU) under the number of IR. IAU. TMU REC.1399.216. Consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication The authors ensure that this Journal and the Publisher have the Author’s permission to publish the relevant contribution. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Additional information Responsible Editor: Mohamed M. Abdel-Daim Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Mirzaei, R., Bidgoli, S.A., Khosrokhavar, R. et al. Increased risk of primary ovarian insufficiency by high-fructose diet consumption: a 90-day study in female rats. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 7415–7426 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22258-8 Received: Accepted: Published: Version of record: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22258-8