2.5. Blood Markers
BLOOD
Blood samples were collected from an antecubital vein and separated fractions were stored at −80 °C until further analysis. The free fatty acids (FFAs) and HDL-C levels were determined by enzyme method, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate transaminase (AST), and creatine kinase (CK) levels by the Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry transferable method, fasting serum glucose level by the hexokinase-G-6-phosphate dehydrogenase method, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level by fixed time assay method, and cortisol level by radioimmunoassay. We evaluated serum levels of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21; R&D Systems; Minneapolis, MN, USA), interleukin 6 (IL6; R&D Systems), and myostatin (Cusabio biotech, Wuhan, China) using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits.