Isoenergetic diets differing in their n-3 fatty acid and polyphenol content reflect different plasma and HDL-fraction lipidomic profiles in subjects at high cardiovascular risk

Abstract

Scope: Dysregulation of lipid homeostasis is related to multiple major healthcare problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of n-3 fatty acid (FA) and polyphenol rich diets on plasma and HDL fraction lipidomic profiles in subjects at high cardiovascular risk.

Methods and results: Ultra performance LC coupled to quadrupole TOF/MS mass spectrometry global lipidomic profiling was applied to plasma and HDL fraction from an 8 wk randomized intervention with four isoenergetic diets, differing in their natural n-3 FA and polyphenols content, in 78 subjects with a high BMI, abdominal obesity, and at least one other feature of the metabolic syndrome. Dependency network analysis showed a different pattern of associations between lipidomics, dietary, and clinical variables after the dietary interventions. The most remarkable associations between variables were observed after the diet high in n-3 FA and polyphenols, as the inverse association between gallic acid intake and LDL cholesterol levels, which was indirectly associated with a HDL cluster exclusively comprised lysophospholipids.

Conclusion: This is the first human randomized controlled trial showing direct and indirect associations with lipid molecular species and clinical variables of interest in the evaluation of the metabolic syndrome after diets naturally rich in polyphenols.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Lipidomics; Plasmalogens; Polyphenols; n-3 fatty acids.