ArticleEuropean journal of clinical nutrition2024
Exploring the effect of prolonged fasting on kynurenine pathway metabolites and stress markers in healthy male individuals.
Article in European journal of clinical nutrition, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- The effect of 6-day fasting on physical performance and neuromuscular control in healthy men.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Effects of Heat Exposure on Kynurenine Pathway Metabolism-Comparison Between Exertional and Exogenous Heating of the Human Body.Acta physiologica (Oxford, England) · 2025Trial
- A Very-low-energy Fast Involves Increased Adipose Inflammatory Gene Expression: A 6-day Feeding Trial (FASTOMICS-6).The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Article
- Fasting-Induced Changes in Serum Kynurenines Do Not Always Reflect Their Urinary Excretion.Nutrients · 2026Article
- The kynurenine pathway in depression and schizophrenia: convergent signals, divergent states, and clinical signatures.EXCLI journal · 2026Review
- Six-Day Fasting Causes Temporary Increases in Both Antioxidant Capacity and Oxidative Stress in Healthy Young Men: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Neuroactive Kynurenines as Pharmacological Targets: New Experimental Tools and Exciting Therapeutic Opportunities.Pharmacological reviews · 2024Review
- The Biology and Biochemistry of Kynurenic Acid, a Potential Nutraceutical with Multiple Biological Effects.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesProlonged fasting triggers a stress response within the human body. Our objective was to investigate the impact of prolonged fasting, in conjunction with stress, on kynurenine pathway metabolites. SUBJECTS/
methodsHealthy males were divided into fasting group (zero-calorie-restriction) for 6 days (FAST, n = 14), and control group (CON, n = 10). Blood and saliva samples were collected at baseline, Day 2, Day 4, Day 6 during fasting period, and 1 week after resuming regular diet. Plasma levels of kynurenine pathway metabolites were measured using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Plasma and salivary samples were analyzed for stress markers.
resultsA pronounced activation of the kynurenine pathway in individuals on FAST trial was revealed. Concentrations of picolinic acid (PIC), kynurenic acid (KYNA) and 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HK) were significantly increased, with peak levels observed on Day 6 (P < 0.0001). Conversely, concentrations of tryptophan (TRP) and quinolinic acid (QUIN) decreased (P < 0.0001), while kynurenine (KYN) and nicotinamide (NAM) levels remained stable. Cortisol and noradrenaline concentrations remained unchanged. However, adrenaline levels significantly increased on Day 4 within FAST compared to CON (P = 0.005). Notably, all deviations in kynurenine pathway metabolite levels returned to baseline values upon resuming regular diet following the 6-day fasting regimen, even when weight and BMI parameters were not restored.
conclusionsExtended fasting over 6 days induces the kynurenine pathway and has minimal effects on stress markers. Restoration of metabolite concentrations upon regular feeding implies rapid adaptation of the kynurenine pathway synthetic enzymes to maintain homeostasis when faced with perturbations.
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