The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences 2018; 4(6) http://www.jomenas.org 16 Morphometric Changes Due To β Carotene on Wistar Rats Fed Dietary Fat Getrude N. Okechukwu * • Nweke B. Ofobuike • Gabriel G. Akunna Joseph A. Nwafo • Augustine O. Ibegbu Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria austine.ibegbu@funai.edu.ng Abstract: Beta-carotene (βC), an antioxidant found in fruits and vegetables is responsible for the yellow color of these plants. The aim of the present research was to investigate the morphometric changes on Wistar rats fed high dietary fat and βC. Thirty (30) male Wistar rats were randomly grouped into 6. Group A was the Control and received distilled water, Group B received high-fat diet of 60% fat and 40% rat chow, Group C received 300mg/kg body weight (BW) of βC, Group D received high-fat diet for 12 weeks and was treated with 300mg/kg BW of βC for 2 weeks, Groups E received 300mg/kg BW of βC for 2 weeks and then received high-fat diet for12 weeks while Group F received high-fat diet for 12 weeks and was treated with 150mg/kg BW of βC for 2 weeks. At the end of 16 weeks, the weights, head-tail lengths were measured and the animals humanely sacrificed, the weights of the liver measured. The results showed that increase in high-fat diets did not sequel increase in the body weight and liver weight in the treated groups. When compared to Groups D and F, Group C showed increased body and liver weights but these were lower than that observed in Group A. The liver weight was increased in animals feed dietary fat alone when compared to Group A. The result showed that Lee index was higher in Groups D and F when compared to Groups B and E. The results of the present study suggest that β carotene extract can be very effective in treating weight gain due to high fat diets. To cite this article [Okechukwu, G. N., Ofobuike, N. B., Akunna, G. G. Nwafo, J. A. & Ibegbu, A. O. (2018). Morphometric Changes Due To β Carotene on Wistar Rats Fed Dietary Fat. The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 4(6), 16-20]. (P-ISSN 2412- 9763) - (e-ISSN 2412-8937). www.jomenas.org. 4 Keywords: Beta-Carotene, Dietary Fat, Morphometry, Wistar Rats, Body Weight, Liver. 1. Introduction: Dietary fat intake often has been shown to be responsible for the increase in adiposity. Human studies have shown that high-fat diets (≥30% of energy from fat) can easily induce obesity (French and Robinson, 2003). Epidemiological studies have shown that when the average amount of fat in the diet increases, the incidence of obesity also increases (Saris et al., 2000). This has led to a worldwide effort to decrease the amount of fat in human diets. Diets rich in fat induce obesity in humans and animals (Buettner et al., 2007). In both rats and mice, a positive relationship has been found between the level of fat in the diet and body weight (Ghibaudi et al., 2002; Takahashi et al., 1999). It was shown that rats consuming diets containing high proportions of fat gained weight faster than those on diets containing minimal amounts of fat (Buettner et al., 2007). Obesity was induced for the first time in rats by ad libitum feeding of a semi-liquid palatable diet (Ingle, 1949). Fenton and Dowling (1953) used high-fat diets with fat at 50% of total energy in weaning mice to induce nutritional obesity but the model was later renamed dietary obesity (Sclafani & Springer, 1976). Animal models have been widely used for experiments on dietary obesity (Speakman et al., 2007). Usually, high-fat diets within the range of 30–78% of total energy intake were used either by adding a particular fat to the diet or using an assortment of fat and sugar-rich supermarket foods for studying obesity in rats and mice (Woods et al., 2003; Huang et al., 2004). The use of high carbohydrate low-fat diets has not been found as efficient as high fat low carbohydrate diets in inducing obesity (Ghibaudi et al., 2002). It has been reported that despite the growing problem of obesity, Canadians and Americans are eating more fat than a generation ago (Lissner et al., 2000). This showed that the increasing rate of obesity cannot be totally explained by high fat in the diet, suggesting that the type of fat may also play a role (Moussavi et al., 2008). Some studies have reported that not all fats are obesogenic and the dietary fatty acid profile rather than the amount of energy from fat is an important variable in developing dietary obesity (Kien et al., 2005). There are reports of non- significant differences in the final body weight and body weight gain of the animals consuming various fatty acids (Ellis et al., 2002). Other factors that may contribute to obesity induced by a diet rich in fat include failure to adjust oxidation of fat to the extra fat in the diet, increase in adipose tissue