(P04-055-24) Comparative Effects of Different Egg-Based Diets on Serum Metabolomic Profiles

Objectives: Consumption of different egg fractions (egg whites, whole eggs with yolk) is associated with distinct changes in cardiometabolic biomarkers, lipoprotein profiles, and inflammatory/immune pathways, in addition to changes in serum concentrations of egg-derived nutrients and their metabolites. However, the effects of egg intake on the global serum metabolome, and whether changes in the metabolome are reflective of bioactive egg components and their potential mechanisms of action, have yet to be elucidated.

Methods: Healthy men and women (n = 26) participated in a 16-week randomized, crossover intervention trial in which they followed a 4-week egg-free diet, followed by random assignment to a 4-week 3 whole eggs/day or 3 egg whites/day diet period. Participants then entered a second 4-week egg-free diet washout period, before assignment to the alternative whole egg or egg white diet. Fasted blood samples were collected after each diet period to perform untargeted serum metabolomic analysis by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS). Data were analyzed in MetaboAnalyst 6.0 to identity LC/MS-MS features and peak intensities between diet periods.

Results: A total of 7,885 features were identified in serum across all egg diet periods. However, the relative peak intensities for identified features were differentially altered between egg diets. Interestingly, the greatest number of feature differences were detected between the egg-free and egg white diet periods (112 total features: 60 downregulated, 53 upregulated), followed by differences between the egg white vs. whole egg diet periods (52 total features: 26 downregulated, 26 upregulated), and the fewest number of differences detected between the egg-free and whole egg diet periods (50 total features: 27 downregulated, 23 upregulated). Ongoing analysis is mapping features to known metabolites to determine how the global serum metabolome is altered by intake of different egg diets.

Conclusions: Consumption of different egg-based diets leads to differential shifts in serum metabolomic profiles.

Funding Sources: This study was funded by an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and an exploratory grant from the University of Connecticut.