Effect of Dawood Fasting on the Increased Level of Antioxidant Enzymes

BACKGROUND: The incidence of degenerative diseases is increasing. The underlying mechanism for such disease includes rising oxidative stress without correspondingly adequate antioxidants. Intermittent fasting (IF) may stimulate mild oxidative stress with a corresponding increase in antioxidants. Dawood fasting (DF) as an alternative diet similar to IF is normally performed for <24 h (±14 h) with intermittent intervals of 1st-day fasting, 2nd-day ad libitum (AL) diet, 3rd-day fasting, and so on. AIM: The aim of this study to examine the effect of DF on the changes in superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (Cat) antioxidant enzymes in BALB/c strain mice. METHODS: A total of 15 BALB/c strain mice were randomly divided into three groups. The AL control (ALC) group was given a standard diet (AIN93) and AL drink every day. The high-fat diet control group was treated with a high-fat diet (24%) and daily AL drink. The DF group fasted on the 1st day (no food or drink) from 17:00 to 07:00, continued every other day, and given a standard feed (AIN93) and AL drink for 8 weeks. Examination of SOD levels in the liver as well as GPx and Cat levels in plasma was carried out using a spectrophotometer. The analysis was conducted using the one-way analysis of variance test followed by Tukey’s test (95% confidence level). RESULTS: The levels of SOD in ALC, DF, and HF groups were 52.86 ± 5.73%, 68.57 ± 3.7%, and 38.57 ± 4.3%, respectively (p = 0.00). The GPx levels were 43.06 ± 2.75 U/L, 55.54 ± 2.71 U/L, and 32.26 ± 2.14 U/L, respectively (p = 0.00), and the corresponding Cat levels were 5.82 ± 0.63 U/ml, 6.55 ± 0.64 U/ml, and 3.44 ± 0.64 U/ml (p = 0.00). CONCLUSION: The levels of SOD, GPx, and Cat antioxidant enzymes during DF were higher compared to an AL diet and a high-fat diet.