Effects of probiotic supplementation on serum trimethylamine-N-oxide level and gut microbiota composition in young males: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: To explore whether probiotic supplementation could attenuate serum trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) level and impact the intestinal microbiome composition. DESIGN: Forty healthy males (20-25 years old) were randomized into the probiotic group (1.32 × 1011 CFU live bacteria including strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Bifidobacterium animalis, and Bifidobacterium longum daily) or the control group for 4 weeks. All participants underwent a phosphatidylcholine challenge test (PCCT) before and after the intervention. Serum TMAO and its precursors (TMA, choline and betaine) were measured by UPLC-MS/MS. The faecal microbiome was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. RESULTS: Serum TMAO and its precursors were markedly increased after the PCCT. No statistical differences were observed in the probiotic and the control group in area under the curve (AUC) (14.79 ± 0.97 µmol/L 8 h vs. 19.17 ± 2.55 µmol/L 8 h, P = 0.106) and the pre- to post-intervention AUC alterations (∆AUC) (- 6.33 ± 2.00 µmol/L 8 h vs. - 0.73 ± 3.04 µmol/L 8 h, P = 0.131) of TMAO; however, higher proportion of participants in probiotic group showed their TMAO decrease after the intervention (78.9% vs. 45.0%, P = 0.029). The abundance of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (P = 0.043) and Prevotella (P = 0.001) in the probiotic group was significantly increased after the intervention but without obvious differences in α- and ß-diversity. CONCLUSIONS: The current probiotic supplementation resulted in detectable change of intestinal microbiome composition but failed to attenuate the serum TMAO elevation after PCCT. CLINICALTRIALS. GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT03292978. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV WEBSITE: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03292978 .

Greater Adherence to Dietary Guidelines Associated with Reduced Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

The evidence regarding the impact of the scores on healthy eating indices on the risk of cardiovascular events among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is limited. As such, in this study, we examined the associations of adherence to the Chinese and American dietary guidelines and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among Chinese individuals with T2D. We conducted a 1:1 age- and sex-matched case−control study based on a Chinese population. We used a structured questionnaire and a validated 79-item food-frequency questionnaire to collect general information and dietary intake information, and calculated the Chinese Healthy Eating Index (CHEI) and the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015). As participants, we enrolled a total of 419 pairs of hospital-based CVD cases and controls, all of whom had T2D. We found a significant inverse association between diet quality scores on the CHEI and HEI-2015 and the risk of CVD. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) per five-score increment were 0.68 (0.61, 0.76) in the CHEI and 0.60 (0.52, 0.70) in the HEI-2015. In stratified analyses, the protective associations remained significant in the subgroups of sex, BMI, smoking status, tea-drinking, hypertension state, dyslipidemia state, T2D duration, and medical nutrition therapy knowledge (all p < 0.05). These findings suggest that a higher CHEI or HEI-2015 score, representing a higher-quality diet relative to the most recent Chinese or American dietary guidelines, was associated with a decreased risk of CVD among Chinese patients with T2D.

Effects of daidzein and genistein on markers of cardiovascular disease risk among women with impaired glucose regulation: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: soy protein and soy isoflavones have been suggested to be associated with improved cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., lipid profiles and uric acid (UA)), but few studies have been conducted among women with impaired glucose regulation (IGR). This study is aimed to evaluate the effect of isolated daidzein and genistein on lipid profiles, high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and uric acid (UA) among Chinese women with IGR. METHODS AND RESULTS: this randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 165 Chinese women aged 30-70 years with IGR. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: 0 mg of daidzein and genistein with 10 g soy protein (placebo group), 50 mg of daidzein with 10 g soy protein (daidzein group), or 50 mg of genistein with 10 g soy protein (genistein group) supplementation for 24 weeks. Fasting serum total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), lipoprotein a (LP (a)), hs-CRP, and UA were assessed at baseline, 12, and 24 weeks after intervention. The results showed no significant differences in the changes (%) of TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, LP (a), hs-CRP, and UA between the three treatment groups at weeks 12 or 24 (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: neither isolated daidzein nor genistein had a significant effect on cardiovascular health in Chinese women with IGR.

Amount Rather than Animal vs Plant Protein Intake Is Associated with Skeletal Muscle Mass in Community-Dwelling Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Adults: Results from the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study.

BACKGROUND: Current literature does not indicate if the amount and animal vs plant protein are equally important in the prevention of muscle loss in middle-aged and older Chinese adults. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to examine the associations between amount or animal vs plant protein and skeletal muscle mass in Chinese adults aged 40 to 80 years. DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis of a prospective, community-based cohort was performed. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: Participants included 1,044 men and 2,169 women aged 40 to 80 years from the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study 2011-2013 with body composition measurements by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The skeletal muscle index (SMI) was defined as appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by body weight. Participants in the lowest quartile of the sex-specific SMI were considered to have low muscle mass (LMM). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Analyses of covariance were performed to estimate the SMI across quintiles of relative dietary intake of total, animal, and plant protein and the ratio of animal-to-plant protein. Logistic regression models were applied to assess the associations between quintiles of protein intake and LMM. RESULTS: The SMI increased significantly across quintiles of relative dietary intake of total, animal, and plant protein (all P trends<0.001). Odds ratios (95% CIs) for LMM among participants in the highest (vs lowest) quintile were 0.3 (0.2, 0.4) for total protein, 0.3 (0.2, 0.5) for animal protein, and 0.4 (0.3, 0.7) for plant protein, respectively (all P trends<0.001). However, the ratio of animal-to-plant protein was not associated with either the SMI or the presence of LMM. CONCLUSION: Higher dietary intakes of total, animal, and plant protein, regardless of the ratio of animal-to-plant protein, are associated with greater skeletal muscle mass in community-dwelling middle-aged and older Chinese adults with a mean protein intake above the current recommendation for protein of 0.8 g/kg per day.

Red blood cell count has an independent contribution to the prediction of ultrasonography-diagnosed fatty liver disease.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Red blood cell (RBC) indices have been demonstrated to be associated with fatty liver disease (FLD) and metabolic syndrome. However, controversy exists regarding the relationship of RBC indices with FLD to date and few has focused on RBC count. This study aimed to explore the association between RBC count and risk of FLD in Southern Chinese adults. METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was performed in two hospital health examination centers, including information on ultrasonography-diagnosed FLD, anthropometric indices and biochemical measurements. Covariance analysis was used to evaluate group differences. After quintile classification of RBC counts, logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the odds ratios (ORs) of FLD. RESULTS: This study consisted of 8618 subjects (4137 men and 4481 women) aged between 20 and 89 years. FLD cases had higher RBC counts than non-FLD cases in both genders (P<0.001). The prevalence rates of FLD increased with the RBC quintiles in both genders (all P trend<0.001), and were higher in men than women. Binary logistic regression analysis showed positive association between RBC count and FLD, and the OR (95% confidence interval (CI)) were 2.56 (2.06-3.18) in men and 3.69 (2.74-4.98) in women, respectively, when comparing Q5 with Q1. Stratified analyses showed similar trends among subjects with and without FLD risk factors. Gender independent results were similar to gender dependent results. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated RBC count is independently associated with high risk of FLD, suggesting that the RBC count may be a potential risk predictor for FLD.

Growth, Gastrointestinal Tolerance and Stool Characteristics of Healthy Term Infants Fed an Infant Formula Containing Hydrolyzed Whey Protein (63%) and Intact Casein (37%): A Randomized Clinical Trial.

To investigate whether healthy term infants, fed an infant formula containing hydrolyzed whey protein (HWP-F, hydrolyzed whey/intact casein =63/37), differ in growth, gastrointestinal tolerance and stool characteristics from those fed an infant formula containing intact whey protein (IWP-F, intact whey/intact casein =61/39) or breast milk. Healthy term infants, born within 14 days of the study's commencement, were randomly assigned to be fed IWP-F or HWP-F until 13 weeks of age, and breast-fed (BF) infants were enrolled as a reference group. Anthropometric measurements, gastrointestinal tolerance indexes and stool characteristics were assessed at baseline, and 7 and 13 weeks of age. There were no significant differences in any growth measurements and the occurrence of crying, spit-up and difficult defecation among the three feeding groups during the study period. However, daily feeding frequency was consistently lower in the formula-fed infants than in the BF group throughout the study (p < 0.05), and infants in the HWP-F group consumed more formula than those in the IWP-F group at 7 and 13 weeks of age (p ≤ 0.002). The HWP-F-fed infants had more similar stool characteristics to the breast-fed infants than infants in the IWP-F group at 13 weeks of age, regardless of frequency, volume, color or consistency of stool. This study demonstrates that the HWP-F could support the normal growth of healthy term infants, to a comparable extent to that of breast-fed infants during the first three months of life. Moreover, stool characteristics of HWP-F-fed infants are much closer to breast-fed infants than IWP-F-fed infants, but no significant gastrointestinal tolerance improvement was observed in HWP-F group.