Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology, 12618 Tallinn, Estonia.
Nutrients. 2023 Jun 15;15(12):2755. doi: 10.3390/nu15122755.
Although vegan diets have been reported to be associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, it was not known whether this might be partly due to vegan diets' effects on plasma triglyceride metabolism. This study aimed to investigate if there are differences in the activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), an enzyme that functions at the vascular endothelium and is responsible for triglyceride breakdown, in sera obtained from vegans and omnivores. LPL activity was assessed using isothermal titration calorimetry, which allows measurements in undiluted serum samples, mimicking physiological conditions. Fasted sera from 31 healthy participants (12F 2M vegans, 11F 6M omnivores) were analyzed. The results indicated no significant differences in average LPL activity between the vegan and omnivore groups. Interestingly, despite similar triglyceride levels, there were considerable variations in LPL activity and total very-low-density lipoprotein triglyceride breakdowns between individuals within both groups. Biomarker analysis showed that vegans had lower total cholesterol and LDL-C levels compared to omnivores. These findings suggest that the lipid-related benefits of a vegan diet, in terms of atherogenic risk, may primarily stem from cholesterol reduction rather than affecting serum as a medium for LPL-mediated triglyceride breakdown. In healthy individuals, lipid-related changes in serum composition in response to a vegan diet are likely overshadowed by genetic or other lifestyle factors.
尽管素食饮食已被报道与降低心血管疾病风险有关，但尚不清楚这是否部分归因于素食饮食对血浆甘油三酯代谢的影响。本研究旨在探究素食者和杂食者血清中脂蛋白脂肪酶（LPL）的活性是否存在差异，LPL 是一种在血管内皮发挥作用的酶，负责甘油三酯的分解。使用等温滴定量热法评估 LPL 活性，该方法允许在未稀释的血清样本中进行测量，模拟生理条件。分析了 31 名健康参与者（12 名女性 2 名男性素食者，11 名女性 6 名男性杂食者）的空腹血清。结果表明，素食者和杂食者组之间 LPL 活性的平均水平没有显著差异。有趣的是，尽管甘油三酯水平相似，但两组内个体之间的 LPL 活性和总极低密度脂蛋白甘油三酯分解存在相当大的差异。生物标志物分析表明，素食者的总胆固醇和 LDL-C 水平低于杂食者。这些发现表明，素食饮食在致动脉粥样硬化风险方面的脂质相关益处可能主要源于胆固醇降低，而不是影响作为 LPL 介导的甘油三酯分解介质的血清。在健康个体中，素食饮食引起的血清成分的脂质相关变化可能被遗传或其他生活方式因素所掩盖。
