Nowe publikacje

Radziejewska A, Muzsik A, Milagro FI, Martínez JA, Chmurzynska A.

One-Carbon Metabolism and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: The Crosstalk between Nutrients, Microbiota, and Genetics.

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing worldwide. Its etiology includes nutritional, genetic, and lifestyle factors. Several mechanisms may link one-carbon metabolism - the associated metabolic pathways of folate, methionine, and choline - to the onset of NAFLD. In this review, we attempted to assess how choline, folate, methionine, and betaine affect NAFLD development, mainly through their role in the secretion of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) from the liver. We also reviewed recent articles that have described the relation between microbiota metabolism and NAFLD progression. Moreover, we describe the effect of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in genes related to one-carbon metabolism and disease prevalence. We additionally seek SNP identified by genome-wide associations that may increase the risk of this disease. Even though the evidence available is not entirely consistent, it seems that the concentrations of choline, methionine, folate, and betaine may affect the progression of NAFLD. Since there is no effective therapy for NAFLD, further investigations into the link between nutrition, gut microbiota, genetic factors, and NAFLD are still necessary, with a particular emphasis on methyl donors.


Lifestyle Genom. 2019 Dec 17:1-11. doi: 10.1159/000504602.

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Zawieja EE, Zawieja B, Chmurzyńska A.

Betaine Supplementation Moderately Increases Total Cholesterol Levels: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Betaine is used to lower elevated plasma homocysteine levels, which are a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, some studies have shown that betaine may have a negative effect on blood lipids. Betaine supplementation is becoming more and more common, but the relationship between betaine supplementation and blood lipoprotein levels are unclear. The purpose of the study described here was thus to perform a meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials on the effects of betaine supplementation at a daily dose of at least 4 g on blood lipids in adults. Six randomized controlled trials published between 2002 and 2018 were identified. All six studies used adult participants supplemented with at least 4 g/d of betaine for six to twenty-four weeks. A meta-analysis was carried out using a random-effects model, and the overall effect size was calculated for changes in plasma total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides (TG). The pooled estimate of the effects of betaine supplementation compared to placebo on TC was 0.34 mmol/L (95% CI: 0.02, 0.65), p = 0.0352. No significant effect was observed for LDL, HDL, or TG. Supplementation with at least 4 g/d of betaine for a minimum of six weeks may moderately increase plasma TC, which might be important in the context of cardiovascular health.

J Diet Suppl. 2019 Dec 6:1-13. doi: 10.1080/19390211.2019.1699223

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