Background: A significant portion of lactating women in less developed countries have vitamin A (VA) deficiency. Lactation has substantial effects on a mother’s metabolism and VA is known to be needed in multiple biological processes, including growth, vision, immunity, and reproduction.
Objective: The objective of this pilot study was to utilize metabolomics profiling to conduct a broad, exploratory assessment of differences in plasma metabolites associated with low VA status versus adequacy in lactating women.
Methods: Plasma samples from lactating women who participated in a survey in Samar, Philippines, were selected from a cross-sectional study based on plasma retinol concentrations indicating low (VA-; n=5) or adequate (VA+; n=5) VA status (plasma retinol <0.7 or >1.05 µmol/L). The plasma results collected from six metabolomics assays (oxylipins, endocannabinoids, bile acids, primary metabolomics, aminomics, and lipidomics) were compared by group, using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.
Results: Twenty-eight metabolites were significantly different in the VA- versus VA+ status, with 24 being lipid mediators (p<0.05). The lipid mediators demonstrated lower concentrations of the arachidonic acid- and eicosapentaenoic acid-derived oxylipins, as well as lysophospholipids and sphingolipids, in the VA- group (p<0.05). Chemical similarity enrichment analysis identified HETEs, HEPEs, and DiHETEs as significantly different oxylipin clusters (p<0.0001, false discovery rate (FDR) p<0.0001), as well as sphingomyelins, saturated lysophosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylcholines, and phosphatidylethanolamines (p<0.001, FDR p<0.01).
Conclusions: The multi-assay nutritional metabolomics profiling of low VA status compared with adequacy in lactating women demonstrated reduced lipid mediator concentrations. Future studies with stronger study designs and a large and more diverse population are needed to validate these preliminary results.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:CALPOLY/oai:digitalcommons.calpoly.edu:theses-3925 |
| Date | 01 August 2021 |
| Creators | Johnson, Catherine M. |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@CalPoly |
| Source Sets | California Polytechnic State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Master's Theses |
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