Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-wq2xx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T17:54:01.969Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Plasma homocysteine concentration is decreased by dietary intervention*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Marja-Leena Silaste ,
Maire Rantala ,
Georg Alfthan ,
Antti Aro  and
Y. Antero Kesäniemi
Marja-Leena Silaste*
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Kajaanintie 50, P.O. Box 5000, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland
Maire Rantala
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Kajaanintie 50, P.O. Box 5000, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland
Georg Alfthan
Affiliation:
National Public Health Institute (KTL), Mannerheimintie 166, FIN-00300, Helsinki, Finland
Antti Aro
Affiliation:
National Public Health Institute (KTL), Mannerheimintie 166, FIN-00300, Helsinki, Finland
Y. Antero Kesäniemi
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Kajaanintie 50, P.O. Box 5000, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Marja-Leena Silaste, fax +358 8 315 5348, email Marja-Leena.Silaste@oulu.fi
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

High plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentration is reported to be a risk factor for vascular diseases. We investigated the extent to which serum folate and plasma tHcy respond to a high intake of natural folate from food. Thirty-seven healthy females volunteered to participate in a crossover dietary intervention. The study included a baseline period and two 5-week diet periods (low- and high-folate diets) with a 3-week washout in between. The low-folate diet contained one serving of both vegetables and frui/, while during the high-folate diet the subjects ate at least seven servings of vegetables, berries, and citrus frui/. Serum and erythrocyte (RBC) folate, serum vitamin B12, and plasma tHcy concentrations were measured at the baseline and at the end of each diet period. The mean concentrations of serum and RBC folate were 11·0 (sd 3·0) nmo/ and 412 (sd 120) nmo/ at the end of the low-folate diet and 78 (95 % CI 62, 94) % and 14 (95 % CI 8, 20) % higher in response to the high-folate diet (P<0·001). The serum concentration of vitamin B12 remained unchanged during the intervention. The mean plasma tHcy concentration was 8·0 μmo/ at the end of the low-folate diet and decreased by 13 (95 % CI 9, 18) % in response to the high-folate diet (P<0·001). In conclusion, a diet high in fresh berries, citrus fruit, and vegetables effectively increases serum and RBC folate and decreases plasma homocysteine.

Keywords

DietFolateHomocysteine
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 89 , Issue 3 , March 2003 , pp. 295 - 301
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2003

Footnotes

*

Presented in part in the 72nd Scientific Sessions, Atlanta, GA, 7–10 November 1999: Tormala M-L et al. (1999) Circulation100, 1–25.

References

Alfthan, G, Pekkanen, J, Jauhiainen, M, Pitkäniemi, J, Karvonen, M, Tuomilehto, J, Salonen, JT & Ehnholm, C (1994) Relation of serum homocysteine and lipoprotein(a) concentrations to atherosclerotic disease in a prospective Finnish population based study. Atherosclerosis 106, 9–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Appel, LJ, Miller, ER III, Jee, SH, Stolzenberg-Solomon, R, Lin, PH, Erlinger, T, Nadeau, MR & Selhub, J (2000) Effect of dietary patterns on serum homocysteine: results of a randomized, controlled feeding study. Circulation 102, 852–857.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arnesen, E, Refsum, H, Bonaa, KH, Ueland, PM, Forde, OH & Nordrehaug, JE (1995) Serum total homocysteine and coronary heart disease. International Journal of Epidemiology 24, 704–709.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bostom, AG, Rosenberg, IH, Silbershatz, H, Jacques, PF, Selhub, J, D'Agostino, RB, Wilson, PW & Wolf, PA (1999 a) Nonfasting plasma total homocysteine levels and stroke incidence in elderly persons: the Framingham Study. Annals of Internal Medicine 131, 352–355.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bostom, AG, Silbershatz, H, Rosenberg, IH, Selhub, J, D'Agostino, RB, Wolf, PA, Jacques, PF & Wilson, PW (1999 b) Nonfasting plasma total homocysteine levels and all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in elderly Framingham men and women. Archives of Internal Medicine 159, 1077–1080.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Broekmans, WM, Klopping-Ketelaars, IA, Schuurman, CR, Verhagen, H, van den Berg, H, Kok, FJ & van Poppel, G (2000) Fruits and vegetables increase plasma carotenoids and vitamins and decrease homocysteine in humans. Journal of Nutrition 130, 1578–1583.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brönstrup, A, Hages, M, Prinz-Langenohl, R & Pietrzik, K (1998) Effects of folic acid and combinations of folic acid and vitamin B-12 on plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy, young women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 68, 1104–1110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brouwer, IA, van Dusseldorp, M, Thomas, CM, Duran, M, Hautvast, JG, Eskes, TK & Steegers-Theunissen, RP (1999 a) Low-dose folic acid supplementation decreases plasma homocysteine concentrations: a randomized trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 69, 99–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brouwer, IA, van Dusseldorp, M, West, CE, Meyboom, S, Thomas, CM, Duran, M, het Hof, KH, Eskes, TK, Hautvast, JG & Steegers-Theunissen, RP (1999 b) Dietary folate from vegetables and citrus fruit decreases plasma homocysteine concentrations in humans in a dietary controlled trial. Journal of Nutrition 129, 1135–1139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, NR (1996) How safe are folic acid supplements? Archives of Internal Medicine 156, 1638–1644.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Centers for Disease Control (1996) Nordic Nutrition Recommendations, Editorial. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition 40, 161–165.Google Scholar
Chasan-Taber, L, Selhub, J, Rosenberg, IH, Malinow, MR, Terry, P, Tishler, PV, Willett, W, Hennekens, CH & Stampfer, MJ (1996) A prospective study of folate and vitamin B6 and risk of myocardial infarction in US physicians. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 15, 136–143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cuskelly, GJ, McNulty, H & Scott, JM (1996) Effect of increasing dietary folate on red-cell folate: implications for prevention of neural tube defects. Lancet 347, 657–659.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, RW, Shaten, BJ, Hempel, JD, Cutler, JA & Kuller, LH (1997) Homocyst(e)ine and risk of cardiovascular disease in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 17, 1947–1953.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folsom, AR, Nieto, FJ, McGovern, PG, Tsai, MY, Malinow, MR, Eckfeldt, JH, Hess, DL & Davis, CE (1998) Prospective study of coronary heart disease incidence in relation to fasting total homocysteine, related genetic polymorphisms, and B vitamins: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Circulation 98, 204–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hankey, GJ & Eikelboom, JW (1999) Homocysteine and vascular disease. Lancet 354, 407–413.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herbert, V (1987) Recommended dietary intakes (RDI) of folate in humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45, 661–670.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacques, PF, Selhub, J, Bostom, AG, Wilson, PW & Rosenberg, IH (1999) The effect of folic acid fortification on plasma folate and total homocysteine concentrations. New England Journal of Medicine 340, 1449–1454.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCully, KS (1996) Homocysteine and vascular disease. Nature Medicine 2, 386–389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mason, JB & Miller, JW (1992) The effects of vitamins B12, B6, and folate on blood homocysteine levels. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 669, 197–203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Möller, J, Christensen, L & Rasmussen, K (1997) An external quality assessment study on the analysis of methylmalonic acid and total homocysteine in plasma. Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation 57, 613–619.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Public Health Institute (1998) The 1997 dietary survey of Finnish adults, Publication of the National Public Health Institute, B 8/1998. Hakapaino, Helsinki, Finland: National Public Health Institute, Department of Nutrition.Google Scholar
Nygård, O, Nordrehaug, JE, Refsum, H, Ueland, PM, Farstad, M & Vollset, SE (1997) Plasma homocysteine levels and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease. New England Journal of Medicine 337, 230–236.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nygård, O, Vollset, SE, Refsum, H, Brattstrom, L & Ueland, PM (1999) Total homocysteine and cardiovascular disease. Journal of Internal Medicine 246, 425–454.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Omenn, GS, Beresford, SA & Motulsky, AG (1998) Preventing coronary heart disease: B vitamins and homocysteine. Circulation 97, 421–424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perry, IJ, Refsum, H, Morris, RW, Ebrahim, SB, Ueland, PM & Shaper, AG (1995) Prospective study of serum total homocysteine concentration and risk of stroke in middle-aged British men. Lancet 346, 1395–1398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Recommendations for the use of folic acid to reduce the number of cases of spina bifida and other neural tube defects (1992) MMWR Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 41, 1–7.Google Scholar
Riddell, LJ, Chisholm, A, Williams, S & Mann, JI (2000) Dietary strategies for lowering homocysteine concentrations. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 71, 1448–1454.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shipchandler, MT & Moore, EG (1995) Rapid, fully automated measurement of plasma homocyst(e)ine with the Abbott IMx analyzer. Clinical Chemistry 41, 991–994.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stampfer, MJ, Malinow, MR, Willett, WC, Newcomer, LM, Upson, B, Ullmann, D, Tishler, PV & Hennekens, CH (1992) A prospective study of plasma homocyst(e)ine and risk of myocardial infarction in US physicians. Journal of the American Medical Association 268, 877–881.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Verhoef, P, Hennekens, CH, Malinow, MR, Kok, FJ, Willett, WC & Stampfer, MJ (1994) A prospective study of plasma homocyst(e)ine and risk of ischemic stroke. Stroke 25, 1924–1930.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wald, NJ, Watt, HC, Law, MR, Weir, DG, McPartlin, J & Scott, JM (1998) Homocysteine and ischemic heart disease: results of a prospective study with implications regarding prevention. Archives of Internal Medicine 158, 862–867.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ward, M, McNulty, H, McPartlin, J, Strain, JJ, Weir, DG & Scott, JM (1997) Plasma homocysteine, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is lowered by physiological doses of folic acid. Quarterly Journal of Medicine 90, 519–524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed