Background: Intermittent fasting (IF) is a recent dietary regimen that has beneficial health effects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of intermittent fasting on the nephrotoxicity induced by monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Materials and Methods: Thirty adult male albino rats were used; divided into three groups: group I (the control group), group II (the MSG group), and group III (the MSG group with IF regimen). Kidney function tests and serum C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-ɑ) were measured. Tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) level, and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activities were measured. Histological examination of the kidney tissues using the light and electron microscopes and morphometric analyses were performed.
Results: Serum urea, creatinine, and uric acid were highly elevated in group II and moderately increased in group III. Serum CRP, IL-6, TNF-ɑ were elevated in group II and group III. Tissue MDA level was increased and SOD and CAT activities were decreased. There were distortion of kidney structure, increased collagen deposition, and enhanced apoptosis. In group III, there were improvement in the kidney function and histological structure.
Conclusion: Our data suggested that intermittent fasting partially prevented the nephrotoxicity of MSG.