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n-3 PUFA and caloric restriction diet alters lipidomic profiles in obese men with metabolic syndrome: a preliminary open study

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Abstract

Purpose

For people with metabolic syndrome (MetS), altering the macronutrient composition of their diets might ameliorate metabolic abnormalities. The common method of clinical assessment only measures total lipid concentrations but ignores the individual species that contribute to these total concentrations. Thus, to predict the amelioration of MetS following caloric restriction (CR) and the intake of fish oil, we used lipidomics to investigate changes in plasma lipids and identify potential lipid metabolites.

Methods

Lipidomics was performed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry on plasma samples from a clinical trial conducted over 12 weeks. Subjects were randomized into two groups: CR (n = 12) and CR with fish oil (CRF, n = 9). Anthropometric and clinical parameters were measured and correlated with plasma lipidomics data.

Results

Compared with baseline, significant differences were observed in body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure and interleukin-6 in both groups, but triglyceride (TG) levels significantly decreased in only the CRF group (all p < 0.05). A total of 138 lipid species were identified. Levels of species containing long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids were significantly elevated—greater than twofold—following fish oil intake, these included TG (60:9) and phosphatidylcholine (p40:6) (all q < 0.05). TG (60:9) tended to correlate negatively with body weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and HbA1c following fish oil intake.

Conclusion

CR and fish oil can ameliorate MetS features, including anthropometric parameters, blood pressure, and blood lipid concentrations. The levels of particular lipid species such as TG-containing docosapentaenoic acid were elevated post-intervention and negatively associated with MetS features. TG (60:9) may be proposed as a lipid metabolite to predict amelioration in MetS following the intake of CR and fish oil.

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Abbreviations

AA:

Arachidonic acid

ALA:

α-Linolenic acid

CR:

Caloric restriction

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

DPA:

Docosapentaenoic acid

EPA:

Eicosapentaenoic acid

HMDB:

Human metabolome database

LA:

Linoleic acid

MetS:

Metabolic syndrome

PC:

Phosphatidylcholine

PE:

Phosphatidylethanolamine

PL:

Phospholipid

PS:

Phosphatidylserine

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid

UPLC:

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank all study participants for their cooperation and the staff of Taipei Medical University Hospital and Wan Fan Hospital in Taiwan for their assistance throughout this study. We also thank the staff of the Core Research Facility Center at Taipei Medical University for assistance with UPLC–MS/MS. This study was supported by grants from the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST106-2320-B-038-062-MY3 and MOST106-2314-B-038-049).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Xing Street, Taipei, 110, Taiwan

    A. Shabrina, T.-H. Tung, N. T. K. Nguyen, H.-C. Lee & S.-Y. Huang

  2. Graduate Institute of Metabolism and Obesity Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

    H.-T. Wu, W. Wang & S.-Y. Huang

  3. Division of Digestive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    W. Wang

  4. Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

    W. Wang

  5. Nutrition Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    S.-Y. Huang

  6. Center for Reproductive Medicine and Sciences, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    S.-Y. Huang

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  1. A. Shabrina
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  2. T.-H. Tung
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  3. N. T. K. Nguyen
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  4. H.-C. Lee
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  5. H.-T. Wu
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  6. W. Wang
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  7. S.-Y. Huang
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Contributions

The author’s responsibilities were as follows: AS, H-TW, H-CL and S-YH conducted the study design and performed data analyses. AS, T-HT, and S-YH were responsible for clinical recruitment. AS and T-HT performed plasma lipidomic analyses. AS, NTKN, H-CL and S-YH assisted with the editing of the manuscript. AS, H-CL and S-YH prepared the initial draft and finalized the manuscript. All authors participated in the analytical discussion of the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S.-Y. Huang.

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No potential conflicts of interest were reported by the authors.

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Shabrina, A., Tung, TH., Nguyen, N.T.K. et al. n-3 PUFA and caloric restriction diet alters lipidomic profiles in obese men with metabolic syndrome: a preliminary open study. Eur J Nutr 59, 3103–3112 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-019-02149-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-019-02149-4

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