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Updated: May 16, 2026

A RAPID Method for Blood Processing to Increase the Yield of Plasma Peptide Levels in Human Blood
Published on: April 28, 2016
Higher postprandial serum ghrelin among African-American girls before puberty
Amy C Ellis1, Krista Casazza, Paula Chandler-Laney
1Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-3360, USA. aellis04@uab.edu
Objective:
Recent reports suggest that ghrelin regulation may differ by ethnicity and age. This study was designed to examine circulating ghrelin among overweight female African Americans across different age groups.
Methods:
Eleven overweight peripubertal girls, 17 overweight pubertal girls, and a control group of 18 overweight African-American premenopausal women ingested a standard liquid meal after an overnight fast. Blood samples were obtained before the meal and for 4 h postchallenge. Participants rated appetite by a visual analog scale.
Results:
Peripubertal girls demonstrated higher postprandial ghrelin and lesser ghrelin suppression compared with adults (p < 0.05), corresponding with greater desire to eat across the test period (p = 0.017). Fasting ghrelin tended to be inversely related to fasting estradiol (r = -0.264, p = 0.076).
Conclusion:
Compared with overweight African-American women, peripubertal girls had higher ghrelin as well as greater appetite after a standard meal. These results may suggest a dysregulation in ghrelin reflective of demands of growth.
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