Threonic acid, an ascorbic acid metabolite, synergizes with intermittent fasting to ameliorate obesity.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Preclinical animal (mouse) study and mechanistic bench research.
PubMed 41507308 · doi:10.1038/s12276-025-01613-y
What was done
Researchers evaluated the metabolic effects of combining intermittent fasting (IF) with threonic acid (TA), an ascorbic acid metabolite, in diet-induced obese mice compared with either intervention alone. They assessed changes in body weight, food intake, energy expenditure, glycemic control, hypothalamic expression of orexigenic neuropeptides NPY and AGRP, and uptake mechanisms via glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3).
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative values, sample sizes, or effect sizes. Combining IF with TA produced greater reductions in body weight and food intake, as well as improvements in energy expenditure and glycemic control, compared with either treatment alone. Mechanistically, TA reversed fasting-induced upregulation of NPY and AGRP by competing with glucose for hypothalamic GLUT3 uptake, which was further enhanced by fasting-induced glucose depletion and GLUT3 upregulation.
Why it matters
It outlines a potential metabolite-based strategy to augment the weight-loss and appetite-suppressing effects of intermittent fasting via hypothalamic neuropeptide regulation in mice.
Limits
The study is restricted entirely to animal models, limiting direct clinical generalizability to humans. The abstract does not provide sample sizes, dosages, intervention duration, or quantitative effect sizes.
Cited by
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