Discovery of Intake Biomarkers of Lentils, Chickpeas, and White Beans by Untargeted LC–MS Metabolomics in Serum and Urine

• Published in: Molecular nutrition & food research Vol. 64; no. 13; pp. e1901137 - n/a
• Main Authors: Garcia‐Aloy, Mar, Ulaszewska, Marynka, Franceschi, Pietro, Estruel‐Amades, Sheila, Weinert, Christoph H., Tor‐Roca, Alba, Urpi‐Sarda, Mireia, Mattivi, Fulvio, Andres‐Lacueva, Cristina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.07.2020
• Subjects: Arginine; Beans; Biomarkers; Chickpeas; dietary assessment; Dopamine; Epicatechin; Food intake; Identification methods; legumes; Lentils; Metabolites; Metabolomics; Microorganisms; nutrimetabolomics; Peptides; Protocatechuic acid; Sulfate; Urine; legumes,metabolomics; dietary assessment; biomarkers; nutrimetabolomics
• ISSN: 1613-4125; 1613-4133
• DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201901137

Scope To identify reliable biomarkers of food intake (BFIs) of pulses. Methods and results A randomized crossover postprandial intervention study is conducted on 11 volunteers who consumed lentils, chickpeas, and white beans. Urine and serum samples are collected at distinct postprandial time points up to 48 h, and analyzed by LC‐HR‐MS untargeted metabolomics. Hypaphorine, trigonelline, several small peptides, and polyphenol‐derived metabolites prove to be the most discriminating urinary metabolites. Two arginine‐related compounds, dopamine sulfate and epicatechin metabolites, with their microbial derivatives, are identified only after intake of lentils, whereas protocatechuic acid is identified only after consumption of chickpeas. Urinary hydroxyjasmonic and hydroxydihydrojasmonic acids, as well as serum pipecolic acid and methylcysteine, are found after white bean consumption. Most of the metabolites identified in the postprandial study are replicated as discriminants in 24 h urine samples, demonstrating that in this case the use of a single, noninvasive sample is suitable for revealing the consumption of pulses. Conclusions The results of the present untargeted metabolomics work reveals a broad list of metabolites that are candidates for use as biomarkers of pulse intake. Further studies are needed to validate these BFIs and to find the best combinations of them to boost their specificity. A broad list of metabolites are found to be candidates for use as biomarkers of legume intake. Flavan‐3‐ol and arginine‐related compounds are particular for lentils, protocatechuic acid glucoside for chickpeas; methylcysteine, pipecolic, and hydroxyjasmonic acids for white beans; and hypaphorine for chickpeas and lentils. Additionally, several peptides, trigonelline, and polyphenol‐derived metabolites appeared to be more generic indicators of legume consumption.