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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Healthy Body Weight Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #144822
Title: DIETARY BORON DECREASES PEAK PANCREATIC IN SITU INSULIN RELEASE IN CHICKS AND PLASMA INSULIN CONCENTRATIONS IN RATS REGARDLESS OF VITAMIN D OR MAGNESIUM STATUS

Author
item BAKKEN, NAOMI - UNIV OF NORTH DAKOTA
item Hunt, Curtiss

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/21/2003
Publication Date: 11/1/2003
Citation: Bakken, N.A., Hunt C.D. 2003. Dietary boron decreases peak pancreatic in situ insulin release in chicks and plasma insulin concentrations in rats regardless of vitamin D or magnesium status. Journal of Nutrition. 133:3577-3583.

Interpretive Summary: The trace element boron is needed by all higher plants for life and has been shown to be beneficial for the health of several animals including humans. Because boron changes the amount of energy molecules in the blood, we examined whether boron changes the way the body releases and circulates the hormone called insulin. Insulin is made and released from the pancreas and regulates how much sugar is taken out of the blood and put into cells. We removed the boron from the diets of chicks and rats and then put some back in to determine whether boron changed how insulin was released from the pancreas and distributed in the blood. We found that the amount of insulin in the blood, but not the amount of glucose in the blood, drops when boron is put in the diet. This means that small amounts of boron in the diet may help insulin work more effectively in controlling the amount of glucose in the blood.

Technical Abstract: Because dietary boron can affect many aspects of energy substrate metabolism, two animal models were examined for the influence of dietary boron on insulin metabolism. Day-old cockerels were fed a ground corn, high-protein casein, and corn oil-based basal diet (boron-low; 0.3 mg B/kg) supplemented with boron as orthoboric acid to contain 0.3 or 1.36 mg/kg (a physiological amount) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) at 125 (inadequate) or 625 (adequate) ICU/kg. Male, weanling, Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to each of four (Exp. 1) or 8 (Exp. 2) dietary groups for 35 d. The similar basal diet (0.1-0.2 mg B; <1.0 mg Mg/kg) was supplemented with boron (as orthoboric acid) to contain basal or 2.0 (a physiological amount) mg/kg; magnesium (as magnesium acetate), at 100 (inadequate) or 360-400 (adequate) mg/kg; and vitamin D3 (1000 ICU/kg for study length [Exp. 2] or depleted for ~17 days then repleted until end of experiment [Exp. 1 and 2]). In chicks, boron decreased (p<0.045) in situ peak pancreatic insulin release at 26-37 d of age regardless of vitamin D3 nutriture. In rats, boron reduced plasma insulin (Exp. 1, p<0.002; Exp. 2, p<0.03), but did not change glucose concentrations regardless of vitamin D3 or magnesium status. These results suggest that boron may help reduce the amount of insulin needed to maintain plasma glucose.