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Updated: Mar 3, 2026
Assessment of the Metabolic Effects of Isocaloric 2:1 Intermittent Fasting in Mice
Published on: November 27, 2019
[Effect of intermittent fasting on physiology and gut microbiota in presenium rats]
Zu-Hua Rong1, Shao-Cong Liang, Jun-Qi Lu
1Department of Environmental Health, 1School of Public Health, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China; 3Division of Laboratory Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China.
Objective:
To investigate the effect of intermittent fasting on metabolize and gut microbiota in obese presenium rats fed with high-fat-sugar-diet.
Methods:
We fed the Wistar rats with high-fat and high-sugar diet to induce adiposity, and the rats for intermittent fasting were selected base on their body weight. The rats were subjected to fasting for 72 h every 2 weeks for 18 weeks. OGTT test was performed and fasting blood samples and fecal samples were collected for measurement of TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C and sequence analysis of fecal 16S rRNA V4 tags using Illumina. Gut microbial community structure was analyzed with QIIME and LEfSe.
Results:
After the intervention, the body weight of the fasting rats was significantly lower than that in high-fat diet group (P<0.01). OGTT results suggested impairment of sugar tolerance in the fasting group, which showed a significantly larger AUC than compared with the high-fat diet group (P<0.05). Intermittent fasting significantly reduced blood HDL-C and LDL-C levels (P<0.05) and partially restored liver steatosis, and improved the gut microbiota by increasing the abundance of YS2, RF32 and Helicobacteraceae and reducing Lactobacillus, Roseburia, Erysipelotrichaceae and Ralstonia. Bradyrhizobiaceae was found to be positively correlated with CHOL and HDL-C, and RF39 was inversely correlated with the weight of the rats.
Conclusion:
Intermittent fasting can decrease the body weight and blood lipid levels and restore normal gut microbiota but can cause impairment of glucose metabolism in obese presenium rats.
