The effects of wild pistachio oil on serum leptin, thyroid hormones, and lipid profile in female rats with experimental hypothyroidism

The aim of this study was to determine the administrative effects of wild pistachio oil in the diet on serum leptin, thyroid hormones, and lipid profile in female rats with experimentally induced hypothyroidism. Thirty healthy adult female Sprague–Dawley rats were selected and randomly allocated into five equal groups (n=6/group). Blood samples were taken from the heart of each animal into Vacutainers before administration of propyl thiouracil (PTU) or wild pistachio oil. Female rats in the control group were fed a stock diet with fresh water. During the 30- day experimental period, all animals in the experimental groups had PTU (500 mg/l) added to their drinking water to induce hypothyroidism. Rats in experimental group 1 had PTU only, but experimental groups 2, 3, and 4 also had 5%, 10%, and 20% of wild pistachio oil in the diet, respectively. Following drug and oil administration, the rats were anaesthetized with ether and 2 ml of blood was taken from the heart at three different time points (days 10, 20, and 30). Determination of the serum concentration of thyroid hormones (T3, T4, fT3, and fT4), leptin, and serum lipid profile (cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, and HDL) was carried out by standard routine procedures. In the present study, a significant decrease in the level of leptin was observed upon treatment with PTU. Although we observed an obvious decline in the serum leptin concentration of PTU-treated rats in the three experimental groups that received wild pistachio oil, the rate of decline decreased. During the present study, a significant increase in the serum concentration of total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, and LDL of hypothyroid rats was observed. Although we observed a marked overall increase in serum lipid profile concentration of the rats treated with PTU, in the three experimental groups that received wild pistachio oil, the increased rates of the lipid profiles were decreased due to unsaturated fatty acids. In conclusion, our results showed that wild pistachio oil can modulate hypothyroidism and its effects on serum lipid profile and leptin concentration.