Influence of various intermittent fasting regimens on body weight and glycemic control in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the effects of various intermittent fasting (IF) regimens, i.e., time-restricted fasting (TRF), alternate day fasting (ADF), and periodic fasting (PF) on body weight, glycemic control and associated metabolic parameters in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats (aged 3 months) were randomly assigned to the normal control (NC), diabetic control (DC), TRF, ADF, and PF groups. Type 2 diabetes was induced in all groups, except for the NC group, by intramuscular administration of streptozotocin (55 mg/kg). The IF interventions were administered for 6 weeks. RESULTS: The rats in all the groups, except for the NC group, exhibited significant weight loss (31.4%, 46.4%, 31.0%, and 33.9% in the DC, TRF, ADF, and PF groups, respectively). The fasting blood glucose levels decreased to varying degrees, with the PF group showing the most significant decrease (77.0%), followed by the ADF (55.0%) and TRF (32.2%) groups. The plasma insulin levels were significantly lower in the experimental groups than in the NC group, but no significant effects were observed on the lipid profile. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings indicate that while the IF protocols led to body weight loss, they exhibited varying effects on glycemic control and other metabolic parameters.

Growth factors in relation to obesity, food habits, and microbiota among healthy Saudis: preliminary results.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is a serious problem among Saudis because of the country's affluent lifestyle. Obesity is associated with various metabolic disorders and characterized by low-grade inflammation that leads to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, human growth factors (GFs), lipids, aberrant adipokines, and other chemokines from adipose tissue. The objective of this study is to delineate the effects of GFs on microbiota and their relationship to body mass index (BMI) and food habits. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, 32 randomly selected participants (16 males and 16 females) were enrolled in a survey covering their sociodemographic information, medical history, lifestyle, and dietary practices. The information on diet, health condition, food and drink intake habits were examined under four distinct BMI categories: normal, underweight, overweight, and obese. The participants' serum samples were analyzed for the various GFs using a human magnetic 30-plex panel multiplex assay. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to investigate which bacterial taxa are enriched and to predict the functional profiles of the samples. RESULTS: Correlational studies revealed sex-based differences between GFs and microbiota. Females exhibited a significant correlation between epidermal GF (EGF) and Proteobacteria, whereas males showed a significant correlation between fibroblast GF-basic and Actinobacteria. Interestingly, a combined analysis of both sexes showed a significant correlation between EGF and vascular endothelial GF with Firmicutes. The data in the underweight group revealed a correlation between granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and hepatocyte GF with Firmicutes. In the obese group, a correlation was found between G-CSF and Actinobacteria. CONCLUSIONS: Our results identified links between GFs, microbiota, and BMI in a Saudi cohort. The insights from this preliminary study will contribute to the predictive diagnosis of obesity. However, further research involving a larger cohort will be necessary to understand the mechanistic aspects of these GFs to provide biomarkers of potential obesity.