Effects of Ramadan intermittent fasting on inflammatory and biochemical biomarkers in males with obesity.

Reza Bagheri, Damoon Ashtary-Larky, Alexei Wong, Anthony C Hackney, Hassane Zouhal, Raoua Triki, Ismail Laher, Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman

Journal: Physiology & behavior 2021;225():113090

PMID: 32710888

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

BACKGROUND

To determine the effects of Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF) on inflammatory (C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)) and biochemical markers of liver-renal function (aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), bilirubin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), urea and creatinine) in males with obesity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-eight males with obesity were randomly allocated to an experimental group (EG, n = 14) or a control group (CG, n = 14). The EG group completed their fasting rituals for the entire month of Ramadan (30 days) whereas the CG group continued with their normal daily habits. Blood samples were collected 24 h before the start of Ramadan (T0), on the 15th day of Ramadan (T1), the day after the end of Ramadan (T2), and 21 days after the end of Ramadan (T3). Resting plasma volume variation between pre and post-RIF (ΔPV) was calculated.

RESULTS

Decreases were noted for interleukin-6 (p = 0.02, d = 1.4) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (p = 0.01, d = 0.7), with no changes for C-reactive protein (p = 0.3; d = 0.1) in the EG compared to CG group. There were no changes (P > 0.05) in ΔPV recorded after RIF for either EG (-0.035 ± 0.02%) and CG (0.055 ± 0.06%).

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that RIF improves systemic inflammation biomarkers in males with obesity. Moreover, RIF did not negatively affect biomarkers of liver and renal function.

Address: Univ Rennes, M2S (Laboratoire Mouvement, Sport, Santé) - EA 1274, F-35000 Rennes, France. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Exercise Physiology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.; Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.; Department of Health and Human Performance, Marymount University, Arlington, USA.; ISSEP Ksar Said, University of Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia.; Department of Exercise & Sport Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.; Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113090

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MeSH Terms: Biomarkers, C-Reactive Protein, Fasting, Humans, Islam, Male, Obesity