Effects of intermittent fasting on some biochemical parameters in rats with experimental diabetes

Objective: This study aimed to investi gate the effects of intermittent fasting on some biochemical parameters in rats with experimentally induced diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: 28 adult Sparque Dawley rats were used in the study. Rats were grouped into the following categories: 1. Healthy Control Group (n = 7), 2. Diabetic Group (n = 7), 3. Healthy-Intermittent Fasting Group, and 4. Diabetic-Intermitten Fasting Group (n = 7). To induce diabetes in rats in Groups 2 and 4, streptozocin (50 mg/kg) in 0.01 M sodium citrate buffer (pH 4.5) was administered intraperitoneally. Control group animals were administered 0.01 M sodium citrate. Following the injection, the animals were fasted for 12 hours, and their glucose levels were measured 7 days later. After diabetes was confirmed, animals in groups 3 and 4 were subjected to 6 weeks of intermittent fasting (16:8). Following the application, serum and plasma samples from rats were taken under anaesthesia, and glucose and haemoglobin A1c analyses were measured spectrophotometrically. IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, and CRP analyses were measured using rat-specific ELISA kits. Results: No statistically significant difference was found between the mean CRP,TNF, IL-1 and IL-6 levels. Serum mean TNF- levels were found to be higher in the experimental diabetes-induced normal-fed group than in all other experimental groups. The mean serum glucose (P = 0.000) and HbA1c (p = 0.014) concentrations of the diabetic normal-fed group were found to be significantly higher than those in all other groups. It was determined that intermittent fasting did not cause a significant change in serum glucose concentrations in both diabetic and healthy groups. Conclusion: All these data indicate that the intermittent fasting model may have a regulatory effect on the inflammatory and metabolic complications of diabetes. However, the lack of statistical significance in some parameters suggests that thise ffect may be limited or indirect. Keywords: Intermittent fasting, diabetes, inflammatuar marker