Physiologic Effect of Ketogenic Diets on Hormonal Profiles in Stress-Induced Male Wistar Rats

Aim/Objective: The aim of this research was to determine the effects of starvation-induced stress on reproductive parameters of Wistar rats fed with ketogenic diets. Materials/methods: Forty healthy male Wistar rats acclimatized for 14 days, weighing 110-200g when weighed with a Golding meter (USA) digital weighing scale. Group A was the normal control, while Group B was also a control; they were fed with a ketogenic diet and water ad libitum daily without stress induction. Group C&D were administered a 15-hour ketogenic diet, 9 hours starvation daily, and 6 hours KD, 18 hours starvation daily. The hormonal profiles were determined using the Tiet and Layman methods. Results: A significant decrease was observed in all three major hormones among the test groups considered in this study compared with the control group that was not subjected to starvation-induced stress. Comparing GP-B (control 2) fed with a ketogenic diet and water ad libitum daily with GP-A (normal control 1) fed with a standard diet and water ad libitum also shows a decline in serum male hormones among the KD-fed group, with a significant p value in the (LH) 18-hour stress-induced group. Regarding serum FSH, there was a significant (p-value ≤ 0.05) decrease among 9 and 18-hour stress-induced groups compared with the control while testosterone decrease was non-significant. Conclusion: Starvation-induced stress with a ketogenic diet possesses antigonadotrophic consequences. We therefore recommend that further research on this starvation-induced stress should not be limited to reproductive parameters only,but to a wide range of parameters involving other body systems.