Development of a Polyamine Database for Assessing Dietary Intake

Abstract

Reducing the concentration of polyamines (spermine, spermidine, and putrescine) in the body pool may slow the cancer process. Because dietary spermine, spermidine, and putrescine contribute to the body pool of polyamines, quantifying them in the diet is important. Limited information about polyamine content of food is available, especially for diets in the United States. This brief report describes the development of a polyamine database linked to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Values for spermine, spermidine, and putrescine were calculated and reported per serving size (nmol/serving). Of the foods from the database that were evaluated, fresh and frozen corn contain the highest levels of putrescine (560,000 nmol/serving and 902,880 nmol/serving) and spermidine (137,682 nmol/serving and 221,111 nmol/serving), and green pea soup contains the highest concentration of spermine (36,988 nmol/serving). The polyamine database and FFQ were tested with a convenience sample (n=165). Average daily polyamine intakes from the sample were: 159,133 nmol/day putrescine, 54,697 nmol/day spermidine, and 35,698 nmol/ day spermine. Orange and grapefruit juices contributed the greatest amount of putrescine (44,441 nmol/day) to the diet. Green peas contributed the greatest amount of spermidine (3,283 nmol/day) and ground meat contributed the greatest amount of spermine (2,186 nmol/day). Development of this database linked to an FFQ provides a means of estimating polyamine intake and contributes to investigations relating polyamines to cancer.Polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine) are organic compounds that are found in every living cell, where they are involved in numerous biochemical and physiological activities, including cell proliferation and differentiation (1-5). The metabolic requirement for polyamines is particularly high in rapidly growing tissues, such as during normal growth and development, and in tumors (6-8). Recent studies have suggested that reducing the amount of polyamines in cells may help to slow the cancer process (9). Clinical trials are currently underway to investigate the effect of the polyamine synthesis inhibitor, difluoromethylornithine, on cancer progression, risk for recurrent polyps, and relevant Copyright © 2007 Until recently, it was believed that polyamines were derived exclusively from endogenous (internal) synthesis. It is now widely recognized that the polyamine body pool is maintained by three primary sources: synthesis within the body, production by microorganisms residing in the intestinal tract, and contribution from the diet (1,9-13). Studies in rats indicate that 10% of dietary putrescine, 40% of dietary spermidine, and 8% of dietary spermine are retained in body tissues (14). Thus, polyamines in the diet are among the determinants of the total body polyamine pool and may be a particularly important consideration in assessing adequacy of diets during early development and in evaluating responses to pharmaceutical agents, such as inhi...

Pharmacological and dietary agents for colorectal cancer chemoprevention: Effects on polyamine metabolism (Review)

“…As far as diet is concerned, poly-amine content is high in several food products including fruits, cheeses and meat. Again, high concentrations of putrescine can be found in common diets, particularly in orange and grapefruit juice (111).…”

Changes in the Content of Free and Conjugated Polyamines during Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) Growth

“…Other studies have also addressed the importance of vegetables as an important source of PAs in the human diet. 11,30,31 Both free and conjugated PA content should be considered in the dietary intake estimation; thus, the total (free + conjugated) Put, Spd, and Spm mean content was calculated and discussed. A general trend was observed: A 1 lettuces contributed to the highest daily intake of PAs (3.81, 0.36, and 0.44 μmol/day for Put, Spd, and Spm, respectively), while A 2 lettuces contributed to the lowest daily intake of PAs (2.36, 0.22, and 0.32 μmol/day for Put, Spd, and Spm, respectively).…”

Evaluation of Difluoromethylornithine for the Chemoprevention of Barrett's Esophagus and Mucosal Dysplasia

“…We observed a partial rebound in putrescine levels at 12 months, but levels remained approximately 50% below those found at baseline. Putrescine is the most prevalent dietary polyamine (44) and is the preferred substrate for the polyamine transport system (45). A study in patients with prior colorectal adenomas found that putrescine levels rebounded in normal rectal mucosa after 12 months of continuous low-dose DMFO (500 mg/d), suggesting an adaptive response to prolonged ODC suppression with a compensatory cellular uptake of diet-or bacteria-derived putrescine (46).…”