LAUSR

Purpose Asprosin, an orexigenic hormone that stimulates hepatic glucose release, is elevated in insulin resistance and associated with obesity. Plasma asprosin concentrations may also be related to female sex hormone levels; higher levels are reported in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) but this may be related to peripheral insulin resistance also associated with PCOS. Clarification of female-specific factors influence on the plasma asprosin response is crucial for studies investigating asprosin. Therefore, this study determined the association of menstrual phase, oral contraceptive (OC) use (as a pharmacological influence on sex hormone levels) and training status (as a physiological influence on sex hormone levels) on plasma asprosin levels in pre-menopausal women. Methods Fasting plasma asprosin, 17β-estradiol (E2) and progesterone, were assessed in 32 healthy untrained and trained women with regular menstrual cycles (non-OC; n = 8 untrained, n = 6 trained) or using OC (n = 10 untrained, n = 8 trained) during early follicular, late follicular and mid-luteal menstrual phases (or the time-period equivalent for OC users). Results Asprosin was lower in OC (0.75 ± 0.38 ng mL−1) than non-OC users (1.00 ± 0.37 ng mL−1; p = 0.022). Across a cycle, asprosin was highest in the early follicular equivalent time-point in OC users (0.87 ± 0.37 ng mL−1) but highest in the mid-luteal phase in non-OC users (1.09 ± 0.40 ng mL−1). Asprosin concentrations varied more across a cycle in untrained than trained women, with higher concentrations in the early follicular phase compared to the late follicular and mid-luteal (training status-by-menstrual phase interaction p = 0.028). Conclusion These findings highlight the importance of considering OC use, menstrual cycle phase and to a lesser extent training status when investigating circulating asprosin concentrations in females. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00421-020-04570-8.