Dietary intake of polyamines in a Spanish adult population: Age-dependent and correlation with the healthy dietary index and dietary inflammatory index scores

Abstract

ObjectivesA healthy and balanced diet is crucial to maintaining optimal health. Understanding the benefits of different food components is essential. Polyamine spermidine is linked to age-related disease protection, but daily intakes and whether these vary with age are unknown. This study aimed to determine polyamine intake in a Mediterranean diet population and its association with participants' age, Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) scores. Research Methods & ProceduresA database was elaborated with references concerning polyamine content in foods to determine the daily intake of frequent foods consumed by 203 participants (84 males and 119 females), aged 18–90 years, using a nutritional survey (VioScreen), that includes HEI and DII scores. ResultsThe participants' characteristics are as reported in the 2020 corresponding Spanish Nutritional Survey. Two-thirds accomplished moderate to high adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The mean HEI score was 74.45 (out of 100), and the DII was −1.94 (anti-inflammatory). The median intake of polyamines was 45.59 mg/day/person (mean: 46.89 mg/day/person, 410.57 µmol/day/person), without gender differences. After normalising the intake per kcal, the Kruskal-Wallis test showed significant differences among age groups for total polyamines ingested, putrescine, and spermidine. The intake of putrescine and spermidine was significantly higher in the 60–69 age group compared to the 24–59 and 18–23 age groups, respectively. HEI scores positively correlated with polyamine intake, while DII was negative. ConclusionsPolyamine intake was higher than reported in other populations, did not decrease based on age, and was associated with healthy eating and anti-inflammatory foods.