Assessing a Panel of Biomarkers in Plasma Reflecting Dietary Intakes: Data From a Large Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Metabolomics
• Dietary Assessment

Background:

• Objective dietary assessment is crucial but challenging.
• Specific metabolites in biofluids are potential biomarkers of food intake (BFI).
• Evaluation of BFI across diverse dietary settings is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a panel of biomarkers of food intake (BFI) representing major food groups.
• To compare plasma metabolite concentrations with self-reported dietary intake.
• To assess the utility of identified metabolites for objective dietary assessment.

Main Methods:

• Randomized controlled trial with 245 adults over 12 weeks (high fiber, high unsaturated fat, or control).
• Plasma samples analyzed pre- and post-intervention using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
• Identified and quantified 104 known food-related metabolites.
• Correlated metabolite concentrations with 4-day food diary data.

Main Results:

• Identified over 40 plasma metabolites associated with specific foods or food groups.
• Modest correlations observed between biomarkers and self-reported intake for red meat, fish, fruit, and legumes.
• Established correlations between specific metabolites (e.g., 1-methylhistidine, anserine, ascorbic acid, pipecolic acid) and food groups.
• No biomarkers were identified for vegetables, dairy, or chocolate.

Conclusions:

• A multimarker panel of plasma metabolites shows promise for objective dietary assessment.
• Further research is needed to identify and validate biomarkers for underrepresented food groups like vegetables and dairy.