6. Beneficial effects of intermittent fasting on lipid profile and histotexture of heart in swiss albino mice

Abstract

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a form of time restricted eating which has gained popularity in recent years and proposed benefits include the improvement of lipid profile and the body weight loss, has gained considerable scientific and popular repercussion. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of IF on lipid profile and histomorphological changes of heart in mice. A total of 18 Swiss Albino Mice (Mus musculus), 28-35 days old with an average body weight of 26.2 ± 1 gm were randomly divided into three groups. Group A was considered as control (n=6) and fed on standard mice pellet and fresh drinking water. Group B was considered as 14 hours fasting group (n=6), kept fasting for 14 hrs. and Group C was considered as 18 hours fasting group (n=6), kept fasting for 18 hrs. At the end of the experiment, blood and tissue were collected for biochemical and histomorphological examination. Data showed that Total cholesterol, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) level (p<0.05) and Triglyceride level (p<0.01) were significantly lower whereas High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) was highly significant (p<0.01) in 14 hours and 18 hours fasting group than control group. Histopathological studies of heart revealed that normal nuclei and no architectural changes were observed in myocardium in both control and fasting groups. It can be concluded that intermittent fasting may have promoting action on heart health as its limits the development of cardiovascular diseases by significantly increasing the HDL level that is known as good cholesterol for health.