Plasma metabolomic profiles of plant-based dietary indices reveal potential pathways for metabolic syndrome associations

Recent advances in applying metabolomics to uncover dietary impact on cardiometabolic health

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Cardiometabolic diseases are a major global health concern, with diet playing a crucial role in their prevention and management. Recent advancements in the identification of metabolic signatures related to dietary patterns offer a more objective assessment of individualized dietary exposure and provide deeper insights into diet-disease associations.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent studies have shown that distinct metabolic signatures are associated with the adherence to various dietary patterns. These signatures show even stronger associations with cardiometabolic disease incidence, independent of traditional risk factors and self-reported adherence to such dietary patterns. Emerging dietary approaches, such as sustainable diets, health outcome-focused diets, and population data-driven dietary patterns, also hold promise for improving cardiometabolic health. Additionally, metabolic signatures could offer insights into diet-disease associations in underrepresented populations, addressing genetic and lifestyle differences.

SUMMARY

Application of metabolomics provides a more precise understanding of how dietary patterns influence cardiometabolic health. Although the number of studies remains limited, and current evidence is inconsistent, the approach has significant potential for improving clinical and public health strategies. Future research should prioritize prospective studies and address population- and outcome-specific dietary needs to enable targeted interventions that optimize cardiometabolic health.

Association of plant-based diet indexes with the metabolomic profile

Plant-based diets have gained attention for their potential benefits on both human health and environmental sustainability. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of plant-based dietary patterns with the endogenous metabolites of healthy individuals and identify metabolites that may act as mediators of the associations between dietary intake and modifiable disease risk factors. Adherence to plant-based dietary patterns was assessed for 170 healthy adults using plant-based diet indexes (PDI). Individuals with higher healthful PDI had lower BMI and fasting glucose and higher HDL-C, while those with higher unhealthful PDI had higher BMI, triacylglycerol and fasting glucose and lower HDL-C. Unhealthful PDI was associated with higher levels of several amino acids and biogenic amines previously associated with cardiometabolic diseases and an opposite pattern was observed for healthful PDI. Furthermore, healthful PDI was associated with higher levels of glycerophosphocholines containing very long-chain fatty acids. Glutamate, isoleucine, proline, tyrosine, α-aminoadipate and kynurenine had a statistically significant mediation effect on the associations between PDI scores and LDL-C, HDL-C and fasting glucose. These findings contribute to the growing evidence supporting the role of plant-based diets in promoting metabolic health and shed light on the potential mechanisms explaining their beneficial health effects.

Bifidobacterium adolescentis-derived hypaphorine alleviates acetaminophen hepatotoxicity by promoting hepatic Cry1 expression

Acetaminophen (APAP)-induced liver injury (AILI) is a pressing public health concern. Although evidence suggests that Bifidobacterium adolescentis (B. adolescentis) can be used to treat liver disease, it is unclear if it can prevent AILI. In this report, we prove that B. adolescentis significantly attenuated AILI in mice, as demonstrated through biochemical analysis, histopathology, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Based on untargeted metabolomics and in vitro cultures, we found that B. adolescentis generates microbial metabolite hypaphorine. Functionally, hypaphorine inhibits the inflammatory response and hepatic oxidative stress to alleviate AILI in mice. Transcriptomic analysis indicates that Cry1 expression is increased in APAP-treated mice after hypaphorine treatment. Overexpression of Cry1 by its stabilizer KL001 effectively mitigates liver damage arising from oxidative stress in APAP-treated mice. Using the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database, we verified that Cry1 gene expression was also decreased in patients with APAP-induced acute liver failure. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that B. adolescentis inhibits APAP-induced liver injury by generating hypaphorine, which subsequently upregulates Cry1 to decrease inflammation and oxidative stress.

The association between dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome among Iranian adults, a cross-sectional population-based study (findings from Bandare-Kong non-communicable disease cohort study)

BACKGROUND

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic disorders increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Dietary patterns are supposed to be important and controllable factors in developing metabolic syndrome. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of dietary patterns with metabolic syndrome and its components.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

Cross-sectional data were extracted from the Bandare-Kong cohort study conducted on 4063 people aged 35 to 70. Dietary patterns were extracted using principal component analysis based on thirty-eight pre-defined food groups. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to investigate the association between metabolic syndrome and its components with quintiles of dietary patterns in crude and adjusted models.

RESULTS

Three major dietary patterns were identified (healthy, western, and traditional) in the final analysis of 2823 eligible individuals. After adjusting for covariates, the odds of metabolic syndrome were significantly decreased by 46% in subjects with the highest adherence to the healthy dietary pattern compared to those with the lowest adherence quintile. Results from fully adjusted models on individual metabolic syndrome components showed an inverse association between higher adherence to the healthy dietary pattern and the odds of increased blood glucose, high waist circumference, and elevated blood pressure. However, in fully adjusted models, no significant association was observed between the western and traditional dietary patterns with odds of metabolic syndrome and its components.

CONCLUSIONS

Adherence to a healthy dietary pattern containing high amounts of fruits, vegetables, nuts, low-fat dairy products, and legumes, could be recommended to prevent and control metabolic syndrome.

Towards objective measurements of habitual dietary intake patterns: comparing NMR metabolomics and food frequency questionnaire data in a population-based cohort

BACKGROUND

Low-quality, non-diverse diet is a main risk factor for premature death. Accurate measurement of habitual diet is challenging and there is a need for validated objective methods. Blood metabolite patterns reflect direct or enzymatically diet-induced metabolites. Here, we aimed to evaluate associations between blood metabolite patterns and a priori and data-driven food intake patterns.

METHODS

1, 895 participants in the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study, a population-based prospective cohort study, were included. Fasting plasma samples were analyzed with 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Food intake data from a 64-item validated food frequency questionnaire were summarized into a priori Healthy Diet Score (HDS), relative Mediterranean Diet Score (rMDS) and a set of plant-based diet indices (PDI) as well as data driven clusters from latent class analyses (LCA). Orthogonal projections to latent structures (OPLS) were used to explore clustering patterns of metabolites and their relation to reported dietary intake patterns.

RESULTS

Age, sex, body mass index, education and year of study participation had significant influence on OPLS metabolite models. OPLS models for healthful PDI and LCA-clusters were not significant, whereas for HDS, rMDS, PDI and unhealthful PDI significant models were obtained (CV-ANOVA p < 0.001). Still, model statistics were weak and the ability of the models to correctly classify participants into highest and lowest quartiles of rMDS, PDI and unhealthful PDI was poor (50%/78%, 42%/75% and 59%/70%, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Associations between blood metabolite patterns and a priori as well as data-driven food intake patterns were poor. NMR metabolomics may not be sufficiently sensitive to small metabolites that distinguish between complex dietary intake patterns, like lipids.

The association between plant-based diet indices and metabolic syndrome: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis

Aim/introduction

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components have markedly increased worldwide. Among lifestyle factors introduced to lower the risk of MetS, healthy dietary patterns have gained considerable attention. This study aimed to assess the association between adherence to plant-based diet indices including O-PDI (overall plant-based diet index), H-PDI (healthy plant-based diet index), U-PDI (unhealthy plant-based diet index), and risk of MetS development.

Methods

To find related observational studies which assessed the association between Plant-based Diet indices and risk of MetS development, PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched from January 2016 to November 2023. A random effects model was used to estimate pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). To assess the heterogeneity of included studies, the I2 index was used.

Results

Nine studies including 34,953 participants from the initial 288 studies were recognized to include in this meta-analysis study. According to pooled analysis, there was a significant relationship between the adherence to H-PDI and the lower risk of MetS (ES: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.67, 0.97; I2 = 77.2%, p < 0.001), while greater adherence to U-PDI was associated with 27% increases in the risk of MetS (ES: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.54; I2 = 76.8%, p < 0.001). According to our analysis of the association between adherence to PDIs and the risk of MetS components, greater adherence to O-PDI and H-PDI was significantly associated with a higher risk of elevated FBS and obesity, respectively. As well, greater adherence to U-PDI was significantly associated with a higher risk of obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL-C, and elevated FBS.

Conclusion

Our results highlighted the importance of food choices in the context of a plant-based dietary pattern, indicating that adherence to unhealthy plant-based dietary patterns rich in less healthful carbohydrates may induce the risk of MetS development.

Systematic review registration

PROSPERO CRD42023428981.