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Determinants of plasma alkylresorcinol concentration in Danish post-menopausal women

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 65, pages 94–101 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background:

Alkylresorcinols (AR), a group of phenolic lipids present in the outer parts of wheat and rye grain kernels, have been suggested as biomarkers of whole-grain wheat and rye intake. In this study, we investigated potential determinants of plasma AR concentration in a free-living population.

Subjects/Methods:

Non-fasting samples from post-menopausal women enrolled in the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health study (n=360) were selected. Diet was assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) and the association between food items likely to contain AR and relevant non-dietary factors were studied by analysis of covariance models.

Results:

The median AR concentration was 78 nmol/l (interquartile range=106.9 nmol/l). Intake of rye bread, identified as the main determinant, was associated with 87% higher plasma total AR concentration per 100 g of bread (95% confidence interval=46–139%). About 8–12% of the total variation (depending on the AR homologue) in plasma AR concentration was explained by the selected dietary variables. At a nutrient level, total dietary fiber and cereal fiber were significantly associated with plasma total AR concentration (P=0.05), but only ≈2% of the total plasma AR concentration was explained by the dietary fiber or cereal fiber intake.

Conclusions:

In the studied population, AR plasma concentration was mainly affected by rye bread intake among investigated determinants.

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Acknowledgements

We thank BSc Erika Jansson for skilled technical assistance. This work was supported by the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) and the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS), the Nordic Centre of Excellence (NCoE): HELGA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science, Swedish University of Agriculture Science (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden

    R Landberg, A Kamal-Eldin & P Åman

  2. Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, The Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark

    J Christensen, A Tjønneland & A Olsen

  3. Department of Cardiology, Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

    K Overvad

  4. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

    K Overvad

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  1. R Landberg
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  2. A Kamal-Eldin
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Correspondence to R Landberg.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Contributors: RL, AK-E, PÅ and AO planned the study. RL was responsible for the analysis of AR in plasma and drafted the paper. JC was mainly responsible for the statistical analysis. AT and KO were the founders of the cohort. All authors critically evaluated the paper before submission and RL was primarily responsible for the final content.

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Landberg, R., Kamal-Eldin, A., Åman, P. et al. Determinants of plasma alkylresorcinol concentration in Danish post-menopausal women. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 94–101 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2010.193

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