Association of glycemic profiles with whole blood polyamine among middle-aged Japanese men: colorimetric assay using oat and barley seedling polyamine oxidase

Abstract

Objectives Polyamines have long been known to have an insulin-like action, but their antiglycating effect has only recently attracted the attention of researchers. The aim of our investigation was to determine the whole blood polyamine concentration in a healthy population in order to examine its relationship with glycemic profiles. Methods The study cohort comprised 622 men aged 40-59 who participated in a health checkup program conducted in 1997, when they underwent measurements of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin (FPI), and fructosamine as glycemic indices. Colorimetric assay methods using oat and barley seedling polyamine oxidase were used to determine total polyamine (spermidine + spermine) and spermine concentrations in the whole blood, respectively. Polyamine concentrations adjusted for hemoglobin were quartiled for the analysis of covariance to assess the association with glycemic indices. Results A significant association was demonstrated between the FPG and total polyamine concentrations. In the trend test, FPG and fructosamine levels increased in accordance with the shift of quartiles of total polyamine concentrations from low to high. In contrast, the association between the spermine and glycemic indices was not statistically significant based on the test for difference of multivariate-adjusted means or trend for linearity. Conclusions This is the first epidemiological study to reveal that the concentrations of blood polyamines are related with either FPG or fructosamine level in a healthy population. There may be some feedback mechanism for the elevation of circulating polyamines to quench the glycation reaction under hyperglycemic conditions. In addition, total polyamines, rather than spermine alone, seem to be a sensitive biomarker representing the antiglycation effect of polyamines.

Metabolomics of Ramadan fasting: an opportunity for the controlled study of physiological responses to food intake

“…Dietary polyamines are absorbed shortly after a meal by the small intestine and degraded in the gut before reaching systemic circulation [ 38 ]. However, recently an association between fasting plasma glucose and total polyamine concentration was reported [ 39 ], which suggests a fluctuation in polyamine concentrations as a response to the nutrition stimuli. Taken together, the observed changes in the different metabolic classes reflect the expected physiological response of the human body to the break of the fasting state.…”

Preventive and Therapeutic Role of Functional Ingredients of Barley Grass for Chronic Diseases in Human Beings

“…Adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase in barley sprouts can regulate cell glucose that is a target for drugs against diabetes and obesity; however, policosanol content of 10 days after sprouting (3.437 g/kg) is 3 times higher than that of 5 days (1.097 g/kg) [ 78 ]. Polyamines in barley cells can increase under stress conditions, and it has a similar insulin function and antiglycating effect; however, the raising circulation of polyamines stop the glycation reaction under hyperglycemic concentrations [ 79 ].…”