Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40263496›Full record

Trial reportEuropean journal of clinical nutrition2025

Metabolomic profiling of a cholesterol lowering plant-based diet from two randomized controlled feeding trials.

Andrea J Glenn, Anne-Julie Tessier, Meaghan E Kavanagh, Gloria A Morgan, Clary B Clish, Jordi Salas-Salvado, Vasanti S Malik, Anthony J Hanley, Richard P Bazinet, Elena M Comelli and 7 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in European journal of clinical nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Andrea J GlennDepartment of Nutrition and Food Studies, New York University, New York, NY, USA. a.glenn@nyu.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-9014-6487
Anne-Julie TessierDepartment of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Meaghan E KavanaghDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Gloria A MorganDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Clary B ClishMetabolomics Platform, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Jordi Salas-SalvadoCIBER Fisiopatologıa de la Obesidad y Nutricion (CIBERObn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2700-7459
Vasanti S MalikDepartment of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Anthony J HanleyDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6364-2444
Richard P BazinetDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Elena M ComelliDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5201-5437
Ahmed El-SohemyDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8877-6414
Simin LiuDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, UC Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Beatrice A BoucherDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6909-3792
Cyril W C KendallDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
David J A JenkinsDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1192-9571
Frank B HuDepartment of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8233-6274
John L SievenpiperDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. john.sievenpiper@utoronto.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundObjective biomarkers of diet, such as metabolomics, may improve dietary assessment and provide additional insight into how diet influences disease risk. The portfolio diet, a cholesterol-lowering plant-based diet, is recommended for lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). This diet is low in saturated fat and includes nuts, plant protein (legumes), viscous fiber, and phytosterols.

objectiveWe examined metabolomic profiles in response to the portfolio diet in two randomized controlled trials (RCTs), where all foods were provided to the participants, compared to a control vegetarian diet and the same control diet with a statin.

methodsThe first RCT included 34 adults (age 58.4 ± 8.6 y) and the second RCT included 25 adults (age 61.0 ± 9.6 y), all with high LDL-C (>4.1 mmol/L). Plasma samples were obtained at baseline, week 2, and week 4 in both RCTs for metabolomics analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Linear mixed models were used to examine effects of the interventions on the metabolites in each RCT, applying a Bonferroni correction.

resultsOf 496 known metabolites, 145 and 63 metabolites significantly changed within the portfolio diet interventions in the first and second RCT, respectively. The majority were glycerophosphocholines (32%), triacylglycerols (20%), glycerophosphoethanolamines (14%), sphingomyelins (8%), and amino acids and peptides (8%) in the first RCT, and glycerophosphocholines (48%), glycerophosphoethanolamines (17%), and amino acids and peptides (8%) in the second RCT. Fifty-two metabolites were consistently changed in the same direction with the portfolio diet intervention across both RCTs, after Bonferroni correction.

conclusionsMany of these metabolites likely reflect the plant-based nature, low saturated fat content, and cholesterol-lowering effects of the diet, such as increased N2-acetylornithine, L-pipecolic acid, lenticin, and decreased C18:0 lipids and cholesteryl esters. Further research is needed to validate these metabolites as biomarkers of a plant-based dietary pattern.

Indexed as

Diet, VegetarianHypercholesterolemiaMetabolomicsAgedBiomarkersCholesterol, LDLDietary FiberDiet, Plant-BasedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPhytosterolsBiomarkersCholesterol, LDLDietary FiberPhytosterols

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.