Abstract
Obesity is a public health problem contributing to morbidity and mortality from metabolic syndrome. It has long been recognized that there is a gender dependency in several obesity-related health risks. Using a high fat diet (HFD) to induce obesity in Wistar rats, we studied the gender dependency of fat-induced oxidative stress in the heart and liver, with a special emphasis on the distribution of transition metals, as well as the protective effects of grape seed and skin extract (GSSE). HFD induced obesity in both male and female rats, characterized by increased body weight as well as relative liver mass in both genders, and increased relative heart mass in the males only. HFD also provoked the accumulation of triglycerides and total cholesterol into the male hearts, and into the livers of both genders. HFD induced oxidative stress in the male hearts and also in the livers of both genders. Furthermore, HFD affected cardiac levels of copper in the males, and hepatic levels of copper and zinc in both genders, whereas HFD affected free iron in the male hearts and female livers, specifically. In conclusion, HFD treatment altered transition metal homeostasis more drastically in the male heart than in the female liver, and GSSE efficiently protected these organs against fat-induced disturbances, regardless of gender.