EFFECTS OF INTERMITTENT FASTING ON PHYSICAL, BIOCHEMICAL AND COGNITIVE PARAMETERS IN A D-GALACTOSE-INDUCED AGING MODEL IN RAT

FERRAMOLA, M.; PONCE IT; PEREZ CM; GODOY MP; FERNANDEZ G; ANZULOVICH AC; LACOSTE MG

MENDOZA

Congreso; SBCuyo 2022; 2022

Aging is a multifactorial process that leads to the gradual deterioration of physical and mental abilities. Currently, thereare no pharmacological treatments that modify the course of aging, so it is of great interest to find interventions that candelay and/or reduce the deleterious effects of this process. Due to the relationship between dietary intake and healththroughout life, different nutritional interventions are being considered as possible anti-aging strategies. Intermittentfasting (IF) is a dietary intervention that alternates periods of feeding and prolonged fasting. Our objective was toinvestigate the effect of IF as a preventive strategy for cognitive dysfunctions associated with the aging process. Wistarrats were randomly divided into three groups receiving daily: (1) physiological saline solution (CTL) via intraperitonealinjection (IP), (2) D-galactose 150 mg/kg (DGAL) via IP, and (3) D-galactose 150 mg/kg via IP + IF protocol (DGAL+IF)for a period of eight weeks. The IF protocol consisted of access to food ad libitum for 24 h that was alternated with 24 hwithout food. We evaluated the physical aspect of the animals, biochemical parameters in serum, and cognitive tests suchas the Barnes Maze (BM) and the Novel Object Recognition (NOR). At the end of the treatment, we observed that theDGAL group presented yellowish and opaque hair with darker regions. This was in contrast with the DGAL+IF rats, which presented whiter and brighter hair, similar to the CTL group. Although there were no significant differences inbody weight between CTL and DGAL animals at the end of treatment, weight gain in DGAL was greater (P < 0.01). Onthe contrary, body weight gain was significantly lower in the DGAL+IF group, in comparison to the CTL and DGAL (P< 0.0001). Glycemia in DGAL rats was higher than in CTL ones (P < 0.05), while there were no differences in cholesteroland triglyceride levels. Interestingly, in DGAL+IF animals, the blood glucose decreased significantly, resembling theCTL group. Also, triglycerides were significantly lower in the DGAL+IF relative to the other groups (P < 0.01). Therecognitive tests (BM and NOR), we found a high degree of individual variability within each group under study, which isfrequently observed when working with a small number of animals (in our case, N = 5 for each group), so a greaternumber of individuals should be evaluated to accurately compare the performance between the groups. The findings ofthis preliminary study suggest that IF has positive effects on physical and biochemical parameters in aged rats. Futureresearch is required to assess the effects of IF on cognitive performance in this model.