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. 2022 Sep 27;12(10):908.
doi: 10.3390/metabo12100908.

Identification of Single and Combined Serum Metabolites Associated with Food Intake

Therese Karlsson  1   2 , Anna Winkvist  1   3 , Millie Rådjursöga  1 , Lars Ellegård  4 , Anders Pedersen  5 , Helen M Lindqvist  1
Affiliations

Identification of Single and Combined Serum Metabolites Associated with Food Intake

Therese Karlsson et al. Metabolites. .

Abstract

Assessment of dietary intake is challenging. Traditional methods suffer from both random and systematic errors; thus objective measures are important complements in monitoring dietary exposure. The study presented here aims to identify serum metabolites associated with reported food intake and to explore whether combinations of metabolites may improve predictive models. Fasting blood samples and a 4-day weighed food diary were collected from healthy Swedish subjects (n = 119) self-defined as having habitual vegan, vegetarian, vegetarian + fish, or omnivore diets. Serum was analyzed for metabolites by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Associations between single and combined metabolites and 39 foods and food groups were explored. Area under the curve (AUC) was calculated for prediction models. In total, 24 foods or food groups associated with serum metabolites using the criteria of rho > 0.2, p < 0.01 and AUC ≥ 0.7 were identified. For the consumption of soybeans, citrus fruits and marmalade, nuts and almonds, green tea, red meat, poultry, total fish and shellfish, dairy, fermented dairy, cheese, eggs, and beer the final models included two or more metabolites. Our results indicate that a combination of metabolites improve the possibilities to use metabolites to identify several foods included in the current diet. Combined metabolite models should be confirmed in dose−response intervention studies.

Keywords: 1H-NMR metabolomics; 4-day dietary record; food intake; habitual food intake; serum metabolites.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Area under the curve for single metabolites and combined metabolite models for (A) red meat, (B) eggs, (C) fermented dairy, (D) beer. Diagonal line represents the reference line.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Study flowchart. Body mass index, BMI; food intake level, FIL.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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