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Epidemiology

Plasma concentrations of anserine, carnosine and pi-methylhistidine as biomarkers of habitual meat consumption

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 73, pages 692–702 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives

Dietary intake of red and processed meat has been associated with disease risk. Since dietary intake assessment methods are prone to measurement errors, identifying biomarkers of meat intake in bio-samples could provide more valid intake estimates. We examined associations of habitual red and processed meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products consumption with plasma concentrations of anserine, carnosine, pi-methylhistidine (Π-MH), tau-methylhistidine (T-MH), and the ratio of T-MH to Π-MH in a cross-sectional study.

Subjects/Methods

Plasma anserine, carnosine, Π-MH, and T-MH concentrations were measured using ion-pair LC–MS/MS in 294 participants in the second Bavarian Food Consumption Survey (BVS II). Habitual food consumption was assessed using three 24-h dietary recalls. Associations between plasma metabolites concentrations and meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products consumption were assessed by fitting generalized linear model, adjusted for age, sex, and BMI.

Results

Total meat intake was associated with plasma concentrations of anserine, carnosine, Π-MH and, the ratio of T-MH to Π-MH. Red meat intake was related to carnosine (p-trend = 0.0028) and Π-MH plasma levels (p-trend = 0.0493). Poultry (p-trend = 0.0006) and chicken (p-trend = 0.0003) intake were associated with Π-MH. The highest anserine concentrations were observed in individuals consuming processed meat or turkey. For T-MH we did not observe any association with meat intake.

Conclusions

Our results indicate an association between habitual meat consumption and plasma concentrations of anserine, carnosine, Π-MH and the ratio of T-MH to Π-MH. Intervention studies should clarify whether the analyzed plasma metabolites are indicative for a specific type of meat before proposing them as biomarkers of habitual meat intake in epidemiologic studies.

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Acknowledgements

The second Bavarian Food Consumption survey (Bayerische Verzehrsstudie II) study was supported by funds of the Bavarian Ministry of Environment, Health and Consumer Protection and the Kurt-Eberhard-Bode-Stiftung. Support for this specific project was provided by The Food Biomarkers Alliance Project FOODBALL (German Ministry for Education and Research, FK 2814ERA02E), a project in the context of the EU Joint Programming Initiative “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Independent Research Group Clinical Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany

    Patricia Mitry, Nina Wawro & Jakob Linseisen

  2. Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany

    Patricia Mitry, Nina Wawro & Jakob Linseisen

  3. Chair of Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München at UNIKA-T, Neusaesser Str. 47, 86156, Augsburg, Germany

    Patricia Mitry, Nina Wawro & Jakob Linseisen

  4. Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Hirschengraben 84, 8001, Zurich, Switzerland

    Sabine Rohrmann

  5. Chair of Nutritional Physiology, Technical University of Munich, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 2, 85354, Freising, Germany

    Pieter Giesbertz & Hannelore Daniel

  6. ZIEL Institute for Food and Health, Technical University of Munich, Weihenstephaner Berg 1, 85354, Freising, Germany

    Jakob Linseisen

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Correspondence to Jakob Linseisen.

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Mitry, P., Wawro, N., Rohrmann, S. et al. Plasma concentrations of anserine, carnosine and pi-methylhistidine as biomarkers of habitual meat consumption. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 692–702 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0248-1

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