ABSTRACT
The effects of fasting on the erythrogram of 4-5-year-old cynomolgus monkeys (n = 6♂, 3.1-6.0 kg; n = 5♀, 2.8-3.6 kg) were assessed by Zeng et al. (2011, Table 1). Blood samples were obtained from the cephalic vein of conscious subjects who were fasted for 0, 8, 16, and 24 hours. All phlebotomies were obtained at the same point in time on different days. At least 24 hours elapsed between each of the phlebotomies. The monkeys served as their own controls. Signicant differences were observed between the erythrograms of male monkeys obtained at 0 hours of fasting and 16 hours of fasting. The Rbc counts, Hct, Hb, and MCV levels were all signicantly lower and the MCH and MCHC were signicantly higher in the 16-hour fasting samplings (Table 1). Although signicant differences were not attained following 8 hours of fasting (except for the MCH), all major erythrocytic parameters (Rbc, Hct, Hb) displayed a mathematical direction toward the values derived at 16 hours of fasting. Thus although these “modications” did not attain signicance, a bias toward the 16-hour level was present. On the other hand, no substantive changes were obtained at 24 hours when compared with the 0-hour (nonfasting) levels. However, the values at 24 hours of fasting for each of the three primary erythroid factors showed a numerical tendency to recover some of the decrement that had occurred at 16 hours of fasting. That is, the values though still less than that obtained at 0 hours of fasting were minimally higher than those at 16 hours of fasting.
