Association of branched chain amino acids and aromatic amino acids with cardiometabolic risk factors

Abstract

Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), tyrosine and phenylalanine were shown to be associated with insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome in Caucasian and European populations. However, little is known about the BCAAs, tyrosine and phenylalanine associations with cardio-metabolic risk factors in Asian Indians and black Africans. The aim of this was to describe the associations of BCAAs and aromatic amino acids (AAAs) with cardiovascular risk factors in black Africans and Asian Indians. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) system interfaced to a triple quadruple mass spectrometer (TQ-MS) was used to chromatographically separate and quantify BCAAs, tyrosine and phenylalanine in plasma samples of 718 participants from the caregivers of the Birth to Twenty Cohort (369 black Africans and 349 Asian Indians). Body mass index (BMI), age and gender independent associations between the BCAA, tyrosine and phenylalanine levels and metabolic syndrome components (fasting glucose, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein -cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol), systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure) were made in the two ethnic groups. Comparisons of the amino acid levels in individuals with the metabolic syndrome and those without and across BMI categories (nonnal weight, overweight and obese) in both ethnic groups were made. (Abbreviation abstract)