Legumes are rich sources of essential nutrients, and their potential health benefits were reported in many studies. Several studies showed a positive effect of legumes on obesity, but randomized clinical trials are limited in the Korean population. The present intervention study investigated the impact of legumes on body weight in obese Korean subjects. A total of 400 participants [body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2] were randomized into two groups. The legume-enriched diet group (LD) replaced one-third of their refined rice consumption with legumes three times per day as a carbohydrate source. In contrast, the usual diet group (UD) consumed their usual diet. The mean weight loss at 12 weeks was 2.87±0.21 kg and 0.17±0.11 kg in the LD and UD, respectively, which was significantly different between the groups (P<0.001). High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and adiponectin levels were increased, and levels of glucose, insulin, triglycerides, and 8-epi-prostaglandin F2α (8-epi-PGF2α) and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index value decreased at 12 weeks compared to baseline in the LD. The consumption of legumes may accelerate weight loss accompanied by regulation of adiponectin and 8-epi-PGF2α in obese subjects. In particular, legumes seemed to induce significant changes in BMI by increasing adiponectin in females. Additionally, increases in plasma adiponectin due to greater substantial weight loss may be related to the improvement in insulin resistance.
We aimed to use a genetic risk score (GRS) constructed with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and an oxidative stress score (OSS) to construct an early-prediction model for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) incidence in a Korean population. The study population included 549 prediabetes and T2DM patients and 1036 normal subjects. The GRS was constructed using six prediabetes and T2DM-related SNPs, and the OSS was composed of three recognized oxidative stress biomarkers. Among the nine SNPs, six showed significant associations with the incidence of prediabetes and T2DM. The GRS was profoundly associated with increased prediabetes and T2DM (OR = 1.946) compared with individual SNPs after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI. Each of the three oxidative stress biomarkers was markedly higher in the prediabetes and T2DM group than in the normal group, and the OSS was significantly associated with increased prediabetes and T2DM (OR = 2.270). When BMI was introduced to the model with the OSS and GRS, the area under the ROC curve improved (from 69.3% to 70.5%). We found that the prediction model composed of the OSS, GRS, and BMI showed a significant prediction ability for the incidence of prediabetes and T2DM.
Scope: The authors used metabolomics to investigate the nutritional modulatory effect of fermented Maillard-reactive whey protein (F-MRP) on the activity of natural killer (NK) cells. Methods and Results: Fifty subjects who had participated in our previous intervention study were included in the present study in the test (n = 20) and placebo groups (n = 30). Additional analyses using ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and gas chromatography (GC)-MS were conducted to identify relevant metabolic features. After 8 weeks, the activity of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A 2 (Lp-PLA 2 ) (p = 0.021), levels of interleukin (IL)-1 (p = 0.001), and activity of NK cells were considerably increased in the test group compared with those in the placebo group. Based on the metabolites discovered by UPLC-MS, ten altered metabolic pathways were observed in the test group after 8 weeks of F-MRP consumption. Specific pathways with most pronounced associations with immune-enhancing effect of F-MRP included aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, glycine/serine/threonine metabolism, arginine/proline metabolism, and sphingolipid metabolism. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated the effects of 8 weeks of F-MRP supplementation on the metabolic status manifested as changes in the Lp-PLA 2 activity, IL-1 level, and activity of NK cells. Intermediate metabolites of the identified metabolic pathways can be used to confirm the immune-enhancing efficacy of short-term supplementation.
We aimed to investigate whether retinal and retinoic acid (RA), which are newly discovered biomarkers from our previous research, reliably predict type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) development in subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG). Among the Korean Cancer Prevention Study (KCPS)-II cohort, subjects were selected and matched by age and sex (IFG-IFG group, n = 100 vs. IFG-DM group, n = 100) for study 1. For real-world validation of two biomarkers (study 2), other participants in the KCPS-II cohort who had IFG at baseline (n = 500) were selected. Targeted LC/MS was used to analyze the baseline serum samples; retinal and RA levels were quantified. In study 1, we revealed that both biomarkers were significantly decreased in the IFG-DM group (retinal, p = 0.017; RA, p < 0.001). The obese subjects in the IFG-DM group showed markedly lower retinal (p = 0.030) and RA (p = 0.003) levels than those in the IFG-IFG group. In study 2, the results for the two metabolites tended to be similar to those of study 1, but no significant difference was observed. Notably, the predictive ability for T2DM was enhanced when the metabolites were added to conventional risk factors for T2DM in both studies (study 1, AUC 0.682 → 0.775; study 2, AUC 0.734 → 0.786). The results suggest that retinal- and RA-related metabolic pathways are altered before the onset of T2DM.
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