Effect of Fish Protein Supplementation on Aminoacid Profile and Nutritional Status in Haemodialysis Patients

Abstract

Plasma concentrations of aminoacids, albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, C3 and C4 complement, and anthropometric measurements were determined before and after oral administration of a new preparation of fish protein in 19 haemodialysis patients participating in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study lasting 6 months. Furthermore, plasma concentrations of aminoacids were measured in 24 control subjects. Before fish protein dietary supplementation, serine, threonine, tyrosine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, leucine, and lysine were lower than in control subjects. Serine, histidine, valine, tyrosine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, and lysine increased after treatment, and phenylalanine tended to increase. The ratios of essential: non-essential aminoacids and alanine:branched-chain aminoacids (BCAA) became normal, whereas valine: lycine and serine:glycine increased significantly and tyrosine:phenylalanine was unchanged. Plasma protein concentrations were unchanged after treatment. Serum transferrin, triceps and subscapular skinfolds, and bodyweight index were slightly reduced in the patients, whereas arm muscle circumference was normal. Bodyweight, weight index, and arm muscle circumference increased after active treatment. In conclusion, the increase in body weight and the return to normal of the plasma aminoacid profile and aminoacid ratios seem to indicate that the treatment with this new fish protein preparation may have beneficial effects on some of the nutrition-related abnormalities in haemodialysis patients.