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- Title:
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids improve intestinal barrier integrity-albeit to a lesser degree than short-chain fatty acids: an exploratory analysis of the randomized controlled LIBRE trial.
- Document type:
- Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Journal Article
- Author(s):
- Seethaler, Benjamin; Lehnert, Katja; Yahiaoui-Doktor, Maryam; Basrai, Maryam; Vetter, Walter; Kiechle, Marion; Bischoff, Stephan C
- Abstract:
- PURPOSE: Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with beneficial health effects, including gastrointestinal disorders. Preclinical studies suggest that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), found in Mediterranean foods like nuts and fish, improve intestinal barrier integrity. Here, we assessed possible effects of n-3 PUFAs on barrier integrity in a randomized controlled trial. METHODS: We studied 68 women from the open-label LIBRE trial (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02087592) who followed either a Mediterranean diet (intervention group, IG) or a standard diet (control group, CG). Study visits comprised baseline, month 3, and month 12. Barrier integrity was assessed by plasma lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) and fecal zonulin; fatty acids by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Median and interquartile ranges are shown. RESULTS: Adherence to the Mediterranean diet increased the proportion of the n-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (IG + 1.5% [0.9; 2.5, p < 0.001]/ + 0.3% [- 0.1; 0.9, p < 0.050] after 3/12 months; CG + 0.9% [0.5; 1.6, p < 0.001]/ ± 0%) and decreased plasma LBP (IG - 0.3 µg/ml [- 0.6; 0.1, p < 0.010]/ - 0.3 µg/ml [- 1.1; - 0.1, p < 0.001]; CG - 0.2 µg/ml [- 0.8; - 0.1, p < 0.001]/ ± 0 µg/ml) and fecal zonulin levels (IG - 76 ng/mg [- 164; - 12, p < 0.010]/ - 74 ng/mg [- 197; 15, p < 0.001]; CG - 59 ng/mg [- 186; 15, p < 0.050]/ + 10 ng/mg [- 117; 24, p > 0.050]). Plasma DHA and LBP (R2: 0.14-0.42; all p < 0.070), as well as plasma DHA and fecal zonulin (R2: 0.18-0.48; all p < 0.050) were found to be inversely associated in bi- and multivariate analyses. Further multivariate analyses showed that the effect of DHA on barrier integrity was less pronounced than the effect of fecal short-chain fatty acids on barrier integrity. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that n-3 PUFAs can improve intestinal barrier integrity. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: The trial was registered prospectively at ClinicalTrials.gov (reference: NCT02087592).
- Journal title abbreviation:
- Eur J Nutr
- Year:
- 2023
- Journal volume:
- 62
- Journal issue:
- 7
- Pages contribution:
- 2779-2791
- Fulltext / DOI:
- doi:10.1007/s00394-023-03172-2
- Pubmed ID:
- http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37318580
- Print-ISSN:
- 1436-6207
- TUM Institution:
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Frauenheilkunde (Prof. Kiechle)
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