Ambroszkiewicz Jadwiga, Chełchowska Magdalena, Mazur Joanna, Rowicka Grażyna, Klemarczyk Witold, Strucińska Małgorzata, Gajewska Joanna
Department of Screening Tests and Metabolic Diagnostics, Institute of Mother and Child, Kasprzaka 17a, 01-211 Warsaw, Poland.
Department of Humanization in Medicine and Sexology, Collegium Medicum, University of Zielona Gora, 65-729 Zielona Gora, Poland.
Nutrients. 2025 Feb 27;17(5):834. doi: 10.3390/nu17050834.
The quality and composition of dietary proteins are crucial during growth, particularly in children who follow vegetarian diets. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine, and valine) and lysine play essential roles in muscle growth, repair, and metabolism and are involved in the regulation of muscle-derived proteins known as myokines. This study aimed to compare the dietary intake and circulating levels of BCAAs, lysine, and myokines-follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL-1), myostatin, and myonectin-between vegetarian and omnivorous prepubertal children and to explore the impact of diet on muscle metabolism. Sixty-four healthy Caucasian children aged 4-9 years (forty-two vegetarians and twenty-two omnivores) were assessed for dietary intake using the Dieta 5 (extended version Dieta 5.0) software. Circulating BCAAs and lysine were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography, while myokine concentrations were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Vegetarian children showed significantly lower intakes of total protein, animal protein, BCAAs, and lysine than omnivores. Correspondingly, the circulating levels of isoleucine, valine, lysine, and albumin were significantly reduced in vegetarians. Among myokines, serum myostatin and myonectin levels were comparable between the groups, but vegetarians had significantly lower median FSTL-1 levels 7.7 (6.5-9.4) ng/mL than omnivores 9.7 (7.5-13.9) ng/mL ( = 0.012). In the entire group of children, positive correlations were observed between dietary total and animal protein intake and circulating valine and lysine levels. Dietary animal protein intake was also positively associated with the serum levels of all myokines, whereas plant protein intake was negatively correlated with myonectin concentration. In conclusion, vegetarian diets in prepubertal children are associated with reduced dietary protein quality and lower circulating BCAAs, lysine, and FSTL-1 levels, which may impact muscle metabolism. Optimizing vegetarian diets using high-quality plant proteins with proper essential amino acids could mitigate their deficiencies and support muscle development during critical growth periods.
在生长过程中，尤其是对于遵循素食饮食的儿童而言，膳食蛋白质的质量和组成至关重要。支链氨基酸（BCAAs：亮氨酸、异亮氨酸和缬氨酸）和赖氨酸在肌肉生长、修复和代谢中发挥着重要作用，并参与对称为肌动蛋白的肌肉衍生蛋白的调节。本研究旨在比较素食和杂食性青春期前儿童的BCAAs、赖氨酸和肌动蛋白——卵泡抑素样蛋白1（FSTL-1）、肌肉生长抑制素和肌联蛋白的膳食摄入量和循环水平，并探讨饮食对肌肉代谢的影响。使用Dieta 5（扩展版Dieta 5.0）软件对64名4至9岁的健康白种儿童（42名素食者和22名杂食者）的膳食摄入量进行了评估。使用高效液相色谱法测量循环中的BCAAs和赖氨酸，同时使用酶联免疫吸附测定法测定肌动蛋白浓度。素食儿童的总蛋白、动物蛋白、BCAAs和赖氨酸摄入量显著低于杂食儿童。相应地，素食儿童异亮氨酸、缬氨酸、赖氨酸和白蛋白的循环水平显著降低。在肌动蛋白中，两组之间血清肌肉生长抑制素和肌联蛋白水平相当，但素食儿童的FSTL-1中位数水平7.7（6.5-9.4）ng/mL显著低于杂食儿童9.7（7.5-13.9）ng/mL（P = 0.012）。在整个儿童组中，观察到膳食总蛋白和动物蛋白摄入量与循环缬氨酸和赖氨酸水平之间呈正相关。膳食动物蛋白摄入量也与所有肌动蛋白的血清水平呈正相关，而植物蛋白摄入量与肌联蛋白浓度呈负相关。总之，青春期前儿童的素食饮食与膳食蛋白质质量降低以及循环BCAAs、赖氨酸和FSTL-1水平降低有关，这可能会影响肌肉代谢。使用含有适当必需氨基酸的优质植物蛋白优化素食饮食可以减轻其不足，并在关键生长阶段支持肌肉发育。
