Remodeling of the gut microbiome during Ramadan-associated intermittent fasting
Su J, Wang Y, Zhang X, Ma M, Xie Z, Pan Q, Ma Z, Peppelenbosch MP
The American journal of clinical nutrition · 107 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Cohort study (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Government
- Science and Technology Department of Gansu Province
- University or hospital
- “World-Class Universities and World-Class Disciplines” of Northwest Minzu University
- University or hospital
- Talent Training Project for Kunming University of Science and Technology
- Government
- Gansu Provincial Science and Technology Department
- Government
- Ministry of Science and Technology Assistance Project Grant
- Government
- Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University
- Grants
- Science and Technology Department of Gansu Province (1504WKCA094); Science and Technology Department of Gansu Province (17YF1WA166)
Based on 6 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2020-11-25 · Am J Clin Nutr · vol. 113 · issue 5 · pp. 1332–1342
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Cited
- 142 citations · more than 98% of similar papers · 7.3× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 42 works
- Access
- Open access (hybrid journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Dietary Effects on Health · Gut microbiota and health · Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Keywords
- Intermittent fasting, Lachnospiraceae, Microbiome, Feces, Internal medicine, Gut flora, Endocrinology, Physiology, Medicine, Biology, Immunology, Bioinformatics
- MeSH
- feces, humans, bacteria, butyric acid, fasting, cohort studies, islam, adolescent, adult, middle aged, male, young adult, biomarkers, gastrointestinal microbiome
8 authors
From CN, NL
- Junhong SuKunming University of Science and Technology; Erasmus MC
- Yueying Wang
- Xiaofang ZhangKunming University of Science and Technology
- Mingfu MaQinghai No.3 People's Hospital
- Zhenrong XieKunming Medical University; First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University
- Qiuwei PanErasmus MC
Abstract
Background
Intermittent fasting is a popular dietary intervention with perceived relatively easy compliance and is linked to various health benefits, including weight loss and improvement in blood glucose concentrations. The mechanistic explanations underlying the beneficial effects of intermittent fasting remain largely obscure but may involve alterations in the gut microbiota.
Objectives
We sought to establish the effects of 1 mo of intermittent fasting on the gut microbiome.
Methods
We took advantage of intermittent fasting being voluntarily observed during the Islamic faith-associated Ramadan and sampled feces and blood, as well as collected longitudinal physiologic data in 2 cohorts, sampled in 2 different years. The fecal microbiome was determined by 16S sequencing. Results were contrasted to age- and body weight-matched controls and correlated to physiologic parameters (e.g., body mass and calorie intake).
Results
We observed that Ramadan-associated intermittent fasting increased microbiome diversity and was specifically associated with upregulation of the Clostridiales order-derived Lachnospiraceae [no fasting 24.6 ± 13.67 compared with fasting 39.7 ± 15.9 in relative abundance (%); linear discriminant analysis = 4.9, P < 0.001 by linear discriminant analysis coupled with effect size measurements] and Ruminococcaceae [no fasting 13.4 ± 6.9 compared with fasting 23.2 ± 12.9 in relative abundance (%); linear discriminant analysis = 4.7, P < 0.001 by linear discriminant analysis coupled with effect size measurements] bacterial families. Microbiome composition returned to baseline upon cessation of intermittent feeding. Furthermore, changes in Lachnospiraceae concentrations mirrored intermittent fasting-provoked changes in physiologic parameters.
Conclusions
Intermittent fasting provokes substantial remodeling of the gut microbiome. The intermittent fasting-provoked upregulation of butyric acid-producing Lachnospiraceae provides an obvious possible mechanistic explanation for health effects associated with intermittent fasting.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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