Nutrition Status & Lifestyle
41 biomarkers of 5 different classes from 200μl sample volume on GC- and LC-MS/MS platforms. Contact our experts for any questions or inquiries.
Why did we design this panel?
We developed a targeted metabolomics panel for investigating nutritional status and lifestyle to accurately measure specific nutrients and metabolites, assess status and dietary intake, and understand metabolic responses to intervention. This supports nutrition focused research, and can be used for developing personalized dietary recommendations and lifestyle interventions, improving individual health outcomes and informing public health strategies.
B-vitamins, functional markers, and methyl donors
17 markers by GC- and LC-MS/MS
Measuring B-vitamins, functional markers, and methyl donors is vital for assessing nutritional status and understanding their impact on health and disease. B-vitamins are essential for various metabolic functions, and their levels indicate potential deficiencies or excesses that can lead to adverse health outcomes. Functional markers like homocysteine reflect methylation status, crucial for regulating gene expression and metabolic processes. Dysregulation of methylation is linked to diseases such as cardiovascular conditions and neurological disorders. Methyl donors, including folate and choline, influence epigenetic regulation, affecting gene expression without altering DNA sequences. Imbalances in methyl donor levels can disrupt epigenetic signaling, contributing to disease development. Suboptimal levels of these biomarkers are associated with increased disease risk, making their measurement important for assessing overall health. Additionally, monitoring these biomarkers helps evaluate the effectiveness of treatments and nutritional interventions aimed at improving health outcomes. In short, measuring these biomarkers provides valuable insights into nutritional status, methylation processes, disease risk, and treatment effectiveness, facilitating proactive management of patient health.
Fat-soluble vitamins
4 markers by LC-MS/MS
Measuring fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) is essential for assessing nutritional status, preventing diseases, and supporting immune function. These vitamins play crucial roles in various physiological functions, including vision, bone health, antioxidant defense, and blood clotting. Deficiencies in fat-soluble vitamins are linked to increased risks of conditions like vision impairment, osteoporosis, oxidative stress-related diseases, and bleeding disorders. Monitoring vitamin levels aids in disease prevention and management and informs therapeutic development. Additionally, fat-soluble vitamins modulate immune function and inflammation, with vitamin D and A being particularly important in immune regulation. Research on fat-soluble vitamins guides interventions to improve health outcomes and informs public health strategies such as food fortification programs. Overall, measuring fat-soluble vitamins is crucial for promoting optimal health and well-being and reducing the burden of deficiency-related diseases.
Essential amino acids metabolites
9 markers by GC-MS/MS
Measuring essential amino acids (EAAs) is crucial for understanding protein synthesis, assessing nutritional status, and evaluating metabolic functions crucial for overall health. EAAs serve as building blocks for protein synthesis, impacting muscle health and tissue repair. Imbalances in EAAs can disrupt metabolic pathways, contributing to disease development, and monitoring the metabolites can help in assessment of disease risk and progression, and can guide dietary interventions to promote health. Additionally, EAAs play a role in sports nutrition, influencing muscle recovery and performance. Research on EAAs informs therapeutic development for conditions related to amino acid metabolism. In summary, measuring EAAs provides insights into nutritional adequacy, metabolic function, disease risk, and sports performance, aiding in proactive health management and intervention strategies.
Meat & fish intake
4 markers by GC- and LC-MS/MS
3-Methylhistidine (3-MH) is formed by methylation of histidine as a posttranslational modification of actin and myosin. 3-MH is liberated during degradation of myofibrillar proteins, is not metabolized or used in proteosynthesis, but is excreted unchanged into the urine. 3-MH in plasma or urine may serve as a marker of muscle degradation, but also reflects dietary meat intake. Endogenous versus dietary 3-MH can be distinguished by simultaneous measurement of 1-Methylhistidine (1-MH), which is not formed in humans but occurs in skeletal muscle of several other species.
Choline, phosphatidylcholine and L-carnitine are cleaved by the gut microbiota to trimethylamine (TMA), which is oxidized to trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) in the liver. TMAO seems to be proatherogenic in animal models and plasma levels are associated with risk of cardiovascular and other diseases in humans. Circulating TMAO increases during renal failure, and has been regarded as an uremic toxin.
β-Alanine (bAla) is a naturally occurring beta-amino acid that is formed during degradation of carnosine and anserine, but also serves as a precursor for the synthesis of these histidine-containing dipeptides. This explains why beta-alanine may reflect the amount of carnosine/anserine in the body, and serves as a biomarker for the consumption of meat, especially red meat. β-Alanine is used as a supplement. High levels, as encountered in some inborn errors of metabolism causing hyper-beta-alaninemia, may act as a neurotoxin and as a mitochondrial toxin. Circulating levels is inversely associated with dementia.
Tobacco use & coffee intake
3 markers by LC-MS/MS
Cotinine is a stable metabolite of nicotine, and is the most widely used biomarker to measure tobacco use and exposure, i.e. both active and passive smoking. Serum cotinine has a half-life of 15 to 40 h and reflects tobacco exposure during the prior 3 to 5 days. The half-life of cotinine is longer than that of nicotine. Thus, the cotinine concentration is therefore rather stable throughout the day.
Trans-3′-hydroxycotinine (OHCot) is the main metabolite of cotinine with a half-life of 6.6 h. The metabolism of cotinine to OHCot is mediated by the enzyme cytochrome p450 2A6 (CYP2A6), encoded by the highly polymorphic CYP2A6 gene, with genotypes strongly associated with nicotine clearance and the nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR), defined as OHCot:cotinine. Other factors, including ethnicity, sex, hormones, smoking intensity, mentholated cigarettes, alcohol use, BMI, are weak predictors of NMR, and account for less than 8 % of NMR variation. Thus, NMR, OHCot/cotinine ratio, is a marker of CYP2A6 activity, and individuals can be categorized into “slow” versus “normal/fast metabolizers” based on their NMR value. The status of “slow metabolizer” has been associated with less nicotine dependence, lower smoking intensity, higher rates of smoking cessation and lower risk of lung cancer.
Trigonelline is a phytohormone particularly abundant in coffee beans, and is a marker of coffee consumption. Roasting of coffee beans partially converts trigonelline to nicotinic acid.