Effect of Ramadan Fasting on the levels of IL-1α , IL-2, IL-6 and IL-8 Cytokines

Abstract

Ramadan fasting is one of the pillars of islam. It is often a subject of discussionwhether or not Ramadan fasting confers any effect on immune cytokines.The aim of thisstudy was to evaluate the effect of Ramadan fasting on the level of IL-1α , IL-2 , IL-6 and IL-8.The study was performed on (30) normal healthy fasting and (30) normal healthy nonfastingindividuals in the month of Ramadan (September 2009). Blood samples were obtainedafter the second week of the fasting and were analyzed for IL-1α , IL-2 , IL-6 and IL-8.There was a slight elevation in IL-1α , IL-2 and IL-8 and a slight decreasing in IL-6 cytokinelevel but the differences didn’t reach the degree of significance (P>0.05).Slight elevation ofIL-1α , IL-2 , IL-8 and slight decreasing of IL-6 in normal healthy fasting in comparison tonormal healthy non-fasting individuals were observed. Thus Ramadan is safe and causesImmunomodulation. Ramadan fasting, Immunomodulation, Interleukins.