Serum levels of leptin, zinc and tryptophan with obesity: A case-control study

The obesity epidemic has turn into a major health threat worldwide and extensively responsible for the increased incidence of many diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. Excessive food intake along with the insufficient physical exercise is the basic impetus for this development. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the serum levels of leptin, zinc and tryptophan (TRP) in obese and non-obese subjects, which play major role in obesity. With the verbal and written consent eighty men were identified from the various areas of Karachi, Pakistan. The socio-demographic data including; age, body mass index (BMI), education and residence, of participants was collected. After providing informed consent, fasting blood samples were taken and serum was collected. The serum concentration of leptin, zinc and TRP were analyzed by ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), FAAS (Flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer) and HPLC (High performance liquid chromatography) respectively. Results showed that levels of leptin were increased in obese than non-obese subjects significantly. On the other hand levels of zinc and TRP were significantly decreased in obese than non-obese subjects. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation found among leptin, zinc and TRP with obesity. Based on these facts the involvement of leptin, zinc and TRP with obesity will be discussed.