Oral administration of a novel, synthetic ketogenic compound elevates blood beta-hydroxybutyrate levels in mice in both food-restricted and ab-libitum conditions

Elevated ketone levels have been shown to lead to improvement in diseased contexts including epilepsy, diabetes, obesity, cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's Disease. It can be difficult for many patients, especially children, to adhere to the strict and intense ketogenic diet necessary to achieve such elevation via dietary manipulation, hence why the field of metabolic therapy continues to explore the use of exogenous ketone supplementation. This preliminary pharmacodynamic study characterizes the effects of a glycerol acetoacetate tri-ester on the blood β-hydroxybutyrate levels in VmDk mice, a model often used in cancer studies in both fasted and non-restricted states. Promising β-hydroxybutyrate levels were observed in both conditions along with a hypoglycemic effect when fasted. No detrimental side effects have been observed. Future studies will include characterizing the compound's effects on metabolomics and cytokines.