Effects of exogenous ketone supplementation on blood ketone, glucose, triglyceride, and lipoprotein levels in Sprague-Dawley rats.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Preclinical animal study (Sprague-Dawley rats)
PubMed 26855664 · doi:10.1186/s12986-016-0069-y
What was done
Male Sprague-Dawley rats received daily intragastric gavage (5–10 g/kg) of one of five ketone supplements or control for 28 days without carbohydrate restriction: 1,3-butanediol (BD), sodium/potassium β-hydroxybutyrate mineral salt (BMS), medium-chain triglyceride oil (MCT), a 1:1 BMS + MCT mixture, or 1,3-butanediol acetoacetate diester (KE). Weekly whole-blood samples measured glucose and β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) at baseline and 0.5, 1, 4, 8, and 12 hours post-gavage. At 28 days, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were evaluated.
What was found
Exogenous ketone supplementation led to a rapid and sustained elevation of βHB (>0.5 mM), reduced blood glucose, and caused little change to lipid biomarkers compared to controls. The abstract does not report specific numerical values, effect sizes, or variance.
Why it matters
This study shows that oral exogenous ketone supplements can induce sustained nutritional ketosis and lower blood glucose in rodents without requiring ketogenic carbohydrate restriction.
Limits
The study was conducted entirely in male rats, limiting direct translation to humans. Sample size is not reported in the abstract. No quantitative values, confidence intervals, or p-values are provided in the abstract.
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