Dietary composition as a determinant of plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine in subjects with mild hypercholesterolemia

• Published in: Metabolism, clinical and experimental Vol. 53; no. 8; pp. 1072 - 1075
• Main Authors: Päivä, Hannu, Lehtimäki, Terho, Laakso, Juha, Ruokonen, Inkeri, Tervonen, Riitta, Metso, Saara, Nikkilä, Matti, Wuolijoki, Erkki, Laaksonen, Reijo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01-08-2004; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning; Arginine - analogs & derivatives; Arginine - blood; Arginine - chemistry; Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Blood Pressure - physiology; Cardiology. Vascular system; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Clinical manifestations. Epidemiology. Investigative techniques. Etiology; Cross-Over Studies; Diet; Disorders of blood lipids. Hyperlipoproteinemia; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; Female; Humans; Hypercholesterolemia - blood; Lipids - blood; Male; Mass Spectrometry; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Middle Aged; Olive Oil; Plant Oils; Rapeseed Oil; Regression Analysis; Stereoisomerism; Toxicology; Performance evaluation; Meal; HPLC chromatography; Cardiovascular disease; Lipids; Hyperlipoproteinemia; Lipoprotein; Multivariate analysis; Blood plasma; Regulation(control); Spectrometry; Endogenous; Energy; Blood vessel; Female; Dyslipemia; Food; Consumption; Human; Hypertension; Enzyme; Postprandial; Alcoholism; Metabolic diseases; Cholesterol; Nitric-oxide synthase; Feeding; Hypercholesterolemia; Diet; Fat; Inhibitor; Circulatory system; Hemodynamics; Oxidoreductases
• ISSN: 0026-0495; 1532-8600
• DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2003.12.028

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor that participates in the regulation of vasodilatory function and is also linked to hypertension, whereas its stereoisomere, symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), is biologically inactive. Dietary components influence vascular functions and a high-fat meal seems to increase postprandial plasma ADMA levels. However, it has not been published whether diet influences plasma ADMA levels. In this study, we investigated the impact of diet on plasma ADMA and SDMA levels. Thirty-four mildly hypercholesterolemic, otherwise healthy women (n = 14) and men (n = 20) with a mean age of 46.2 years (range, 35 to 62 years) participated in the study. The subjects were examined twice at intervals of 2 months. Seven-day food records were used to analyze diet and alcohol intake. ADMA was measured by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)–tandem mass spectrometry. In a multivariate analysis (
R
2 = 0.20,
P < .002), low amount of energy received from carbohydrates (
r = −0.31,
P = .009) and high plasma triglycerides (
r = 0.30,
P = .01) were predictors of high ADMA plasma levels. Alcohol drinkers had higher plasma ADMA concentrations than abstainers (0.50 ± 0.13
v 0.42 ± 0.11 μmol/L,
P = .04). Plasma ADMA correlated with systolic (
r = 0.60,
P = .005) and diastolic blood pressure (
r = 0.53,
P = .02) in abstainers but not in alcohol drinkers. Plasma SDMA was not associated with any dietary components or with blood pressure. In conclusion, a high amount of dietary carbohydrates is strongly associated with low levels of plasma ADMA. Concentration of ADMA in plasma seems to be higher in alcohol drinkers than in abstainers.