Ionic Detoxification Reduces Obesity and Fatty Liver in Rats Fed a High- Fat Diet

Background: Ionic detoxification (ID) or ionic water bath treatment is a simple alternative method to improve health but lacks scientific evidence. It is hypothesized that regular ID treatment can increase the excretion of toxic molecules from the body and improve metabolic disorders including obesity. Methods: To investigate the effect of ID treatment on high-fat diet-induced obesity and fatty liver, male Wistar rats were fed a low-fat control diet, a high-fat (HF) diet, or a HF diet with ID treatment (3 times/week) for 11 weeks. Triglyceride contents and fatty acid metabolic genes in perirenal adipose tissue and liver were determined. Results: Rats fed the HF diet had significantly higher body weight, liver weight, and adipose tissue (perirenal and epididymal) weight than did animals fed the low-fat diet. ID treatment significantly reduced body weight and perirenal adipose tissue weight induced by the HF diet. In addition, ID treatment reduced hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride contents. In liver, ID treatment reduced fatty acid synthesis (acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthase mRNA) more significantly than fatty acid oxidation (carnitine palmitoyl-transferase 1 and acyl CoA oxidase mRNA). In perirenal adipose tissue, ID treatment increased the lipolysis rate and reduced the triglyceride level. However, ID treatment had no significant effects on lipogenesis gene expression or adipose size in perirenal adipose tissue. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that regular ID treatment may have beneficial effects on reducing obesity and fatty liver.