Biomarkers of Individual Foods, and Separation of Diets Using Untargeted LC-MS-based Plasma Metabolomics in a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to identify biomarkers of dietary patterns, including theobromine (a metabolite associated with chocolate consumption), to distinguish between the New Nordic Diet and the average Danish diet.
Results Summary
The study found that theobromine, a metabolite linked to chocolate intake, was associated with the average Danish diet (ADD), suggesting chocolate consumption was more prevalent in this group compared to the New Nordic Diet (NND). No specific health effects of chocolate were discussed.
Population
146 subjects in a controlled dietary intervention study.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
26 weeks
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
new Nordic diet (NND) | increase | diet-related metabolites | 146 subjects | - | is characterized by | #1 |
new Nordic diet (NND) | increase | pipecolic acid betaine | 146 subjects | - | is characterized by | #2 |
new Nordic diet (NND) | increase | trimethylamine oxide | 146 subjects | - | is characterized by | #3 |
new Nordic diet (NND) | increase | prolyl hydroxyproline | 146 subjects | - | is characterized by | #4 |
average Danish diet (ADD) | increase | theobromine | 146 subjects | - | were associated with | #5 |
average Danish diet (ADD) | increase | proline betaine | 146 subjects | - | were associated with | #6 |
average Danish diet (ADD) | increase | amino acid metabolism | 146 subjects | - | characterize | #7 |
average Danish diet (ADD) | increase | fat metabolism | 146 subjects | - | characterize | #8 |
average Danish diet (ADD) | increase | indolelactic acid | 146 subjects | - | characterize | #9 |
average Danish diet (ADD) | increase | hydroxy-3-methylbutyrate | 146 subjects | - | characterize | #10 |
average Danish diet (ADD) | increase | butyryl carnitine | 146 subjects | - | characterize | #11 |
new Nordic diet (NND) | increase | polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholines | 146 subjects | - | is associated with higher concentrations of | #12 |
new Nordic diet (NND) | change | fat metabolism | 146 subjects | - | indicating effects of potential health benefit, including changes in | #13 |
new Nordic diet (NND) | change | glucose utilization | 146 subjects | - | indicating effects of potential health benefit, including changes in | #14 |
SCOPE: Self-reported dietary intake does not represent an objective unbiased assessment. The effect of the new Nordic diet (NND) versus average Danish diet (ADD) on plasma metabolic profiles is investigated to identify biomarkers of compliance and metabolic effects. METHODS AND RESULTS: In a 26-week controlled dietary intervention study, 146 subjects followed either NND, a predominantly organic diet high in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and fish, or ADD, a diet higher in imported and processed foods. Fasting plasma samples are analyzed with untargeted ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadruple time-of-flight. It is demonstrated that supervised machine learning with feature selection can separate NND and ADD samples with an average test set performance of up to 0.88 area under the curve. The NND plasma metabolome is characterized by diet-related metabolites, such as pipecolic acid betaine (whole grain), trimethylamine oxide, and prolyl hydroxyproline (both fish intake), while theobromine (chocolate) and proline betaine (citrus) were associated with ADD. Amino acid (i.e., indolelactic acid and hydroxy-3-methylbutyrate) and fat metabolism (butyryl carnitine) characterize ADD whereas NND is associated with higher concentrations of polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholines. CONCLUSIONS: The plasma metabolite profiles are predictive of dietary patterns and reflected good compliance while indicating effects of potential health benefit, including changes in fat metabolism and glucose utilization.