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Topical Area: Energy and Macronutrient Metabolism

Energy and Macronutrient Metabolism (Poster Session)

(P16-024-23) Consuming a Low-Carbohydrate/High-Protein Diet for 8 Weeks Altered Serum Metabolome in Individuals With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Sunday, July 23, 2023
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 188
Disclosure(s):
Jia Li, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Previously, we showed that a low-carbohydrate/high-protein diet (LC/HP, ~30% energy from protein, 40% energy from carbohydrate) with healthy components (whole grains, fruit and vegetables, healthy fat) improved body composition, blood lipid profile, and gut microbiome composition among individuals with chronic spinal cord injury(SCI). Here we aim to explore further the impact of the LC/HP diet on serum metabolome.

Methods: Adults with SCI (≥3 years post‐injury, C4‐L2, AIS A‐D) were randomly assigned to an 8‐week LC/HP or control diet group. The LC/HP group received all meals delivered weekly to their homes, and the control group was asked to continue their usual diet. Serum samples obtained at baseline and week 8 from 22 participants (LC/HP: n=9, control: n=13) were analyzed using untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Raw data preprocessing and ion feature annotations were performed using MS-DIAL 4.9, and ion feature intensities were normalized on the MetaboAnalyst platform. A linear mixed model to identify ion features that changed differently over time between groups.

Results: Compared to the control group, Choline, Propionyl carnitine, Gamma-glutamyl leucine, trans-Cinnamate, N-Acetyl-DL-serine, and Glutamine decreased, while Tryptophan betaine, Citric acid, and Hippurate increased in the LC/HP group (all P<sub>interaction < 0.05).

Conclusions: The LC/HP diet is accompanied by favorable changes in serum metabolites implicated in protein catabolism (Gamma-glutamyl leucine), gut microbiome diversity (Hippurate, Tryptophan betaine), kidney health (N-Acetyl-DL-serine), which are consistent with the overall improvements in metabolic health previously reported. However, due to the limitation of untargeted metabolomics, these metabolites and many unannotated ion features, require additional identification steps to better understand the changes in serum metabolome.

Funding Sources: NIDILRR