The effects of periodic restricted feeding on Rhesus Macaques

Dietary restriction has shown benefits in physiological, metabolic, and molecular signatures associated with aging. In mice, periodic dietary restriction, that accompanies cyclical periods of reduced calories, mitigates aging phenotypes, yet the effects of this periodic restriction in higher order, genetically heterogenous mammals, have not been investigated. Reducing caloric intake in middle-aged Rhesus Macaques for four days followed by ad libitum eating for ten days, repeated for six cycles, led to significant changes in body composition, metabolome, and microbiome of the restricted monkeys compared to their ad libitum fed (age and sex matched) controls. These changes were also associated with stabilized blood parameters. The changes in metabolome, microbiome, and body compositions were additive, with consistent but increasingly pronounced changes in later cycles, suggesting sustaining benefits in non-human primates. These results suggest this type of cyclical dietary restriction, that is easy to adhere to, will also have translational benefits in humans while enhancing aging-associated parameters. Overall design: Adlib diet vs PRF diet, primate gut microbiome sample analysis