Abstract
Elevated plasma branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and C3 and C5 acylcarnitines (AC) levels observed in individuals with insulin resistance (IR) might be influenced by dietary protein intakes. This study explores the associations between dietary protein sources, plasma BCAA levels and C3 and C5 ACs in normal weight (NW) or overweight (OW) individuals with or without metabolic syndrome (MS). Data from 199 men and women aged 18–55 years with complete metabolite profile were analyzed. Associations between metabolic parameters, protein sources, plasma BCAA and AC levels were tested. OW/MS+ consumed significantly more animal protein (p = 0.0388) and had higher plasma BCAA levels (p < 0.0001) than OW/MS− or NW/MS− individuals. Plasma BCAA levels were not associated with BCAA intakes in the whole cohort, while there was a trend for an association between plasma BCAA levels and red meat or with animal protein in OW/MS+. These associations were of weak magnitude. In NW/MS− individuals, the protein sources associated with BCAA levels varied greatly with adjustment for confounders. Plasma C3 and C5 ACs were associated with plasma BCAA levels in the whole cohort (p < 0.0001) and in subgroups based on OW and MS status. These results suggest a modest association of meat or animal protein intakes and an association of C3 and C5 ACs with plasma BCAA levels, obesity and MS.
Highlights
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) are comprised of leucine, isoleucine and valine [1]
We found plasma BCAA levels to be associated with animal protein consumption, with red meat being the main source of proteins that correlates in OW/metabolic syndrome (MS)+ individuals
We found a constant tendency toward significance between plasma BCAAs and animal protein or red meat intakes in OW/MS+ individuals
Summary
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) are comprised of leucine, isoleucine and valine [1] Their plasma levels have been positively associated with features of the metabolic syndrome (MS), such as insulin resistance (IR) and pre-diabetes [2,3], and with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) [4,5,6,7,8]. Most dietary BCAAs are metabolized in the skeletal muscle after passing through systemic circulation, whereas other amino acids (AA) are metabolized in the liver [12,13,14,15].
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