Plasma Free Fatty Acids Metabolic Profile with LC-MS and Appetite-Related Hormones in South Asian and White European Men in Relation to Adiposity, Physical Activity and Cardiorespiratory Fitness: A Cross-Sectional Study

Simone Benedetti; Naser F Al-Tannak; Mansour Alzharani; Hannah J Moir; David J Stensel; Alice E Thackray; Declan P Naughton; Mehmet T Dorak; Owen Spendiff; Natasha Hill; David G Watson; Judith Allgrove

doi:10.3390/metabo9040071

Plasma Free Fatty Acids Metabolic Profile with LC-MS and Appetite-Related Hormones in South Asian and White European Men in Relation to Adiposity, Physical Activity and Cardiorespiratory Fitness: A Cross-Sectional Study

Metabolites. 2019 Apr 13;9(4):71. doi: 10.3390/metabo9040071.

Authors

Simone Benedetti¹, Naser F Al-Tannak², Mansour Alzharani³, Hannah J Moir⁴, David J Stensel^{5

6}, Alice E Thackray^{7

8}, Declan P Naughton⁹, Mehmet T Dorak¹⁰, Owen Spendiff¹¹, Natasha Hill¹², David G Watson¹³, Judith Allgrove¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Applied & Human Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy & Chemistry, Kingston University London, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, UK. S.Benedetti@kingston.ac.uk.
² Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 23924, Safat, Kuwait City 13110, Kuwait. dr_altannak@HSC.EDU.KW.
³ Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, The John Arbuthnott Building, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK. mansour.alzahrani@strath.ac.uk.
⁴ Applied & Human Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy & Chemistry, Kingston University London, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, UK. H.Moir@kingston.ac.uk.
⁵ National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK. D.J.Stensel@lboro.ac.uk.
⁶ University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Infirmary Square, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK. D.J.Stensel@lboro.ac.uk.
⁷ National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK. A.E.Thackray@lboro.ac.uk.
⁸ University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Infirmary Square, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK. A.E.Thackray@lboro.ac.uk.
⁹ Applied & Human Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy & Chemistry, Kingston University London, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, UK. D.Naughton@kingston.ac.uk.
¹⁰ Applied & Human Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy & Chemistry, Kingston University London, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, UK. M.Dorak@kingston.ac.uk.
¹¹ Applied & Human Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy & Chemistry, Kingston University London, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, UK. O.Spendiff@kingston.ac.uk.
¹² Applied & Human Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy & Chemistry, Kingston University London, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, UK. N.Hill@kingston.ac.uk.
¹³ Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, The John Arbuthnott Building, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK. d.g.watson@strath.ac.uk.
¹⁴ Applied & Human Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy & Chemistry, Kingston University London, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, UK. J.Allgrove@kingston.ac.uk.

Abstract

South Asians have a greater cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk than white Europeans, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. This study examined ethnic differences in free fatty acids (FFAs) metabolic profile (assessed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry), appetite-related hormones and traditional CVD and T2D risk markers in blood samples collected from 16 South Asian and 16 white European men and explored associations with body composition, objectively-measured physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness. South Asians exhibited higher concentrations of five FFAs (laurate, myristate, palmitate, linolenic, linoleate; p ≤ 0.040), lower acylated ghrelin (ES = 1.00, p = 0.008) and higher leptin (ES = 1.11, p = 0.004) than white Europeans; total peptide YY was similar between groups (p = 0.381). South Asians exhibited elevated fasting insulin, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, triacylglycerol and ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and lower fasting HDL-C (all ES ≥ 0.74, p ≤ 0.053). Controlling for body fat percentage (assessed using air displacement plethysmography) attenuated these differences. Despite similar habitual moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (ES = 0.18, p = 0.675), V ˙ O_2max was lower in South Asians (ES = 1.36, p = 0.001). Circulating FFAs in South Asians were positively correlated with body fat percentage (r² = 0.92), body mass (r² = 0.86) and AUC glucose (r² = 0.89) whereas in white Europeans FFAs were negatively correlated with total step counts (r² = 0.96). In conclusion, South Asians exhibited a different FFA profile, lower ghrelin, higher leptin, impaired CVD and T2D risk markers and lower cardiorespiratory fitness than white Europeans.

Keywords: South Asian; Type 2 diabetes; appetite hormones; cardiorespiratory fitness; cardiovascular disease; free fatty acids; inflammation; metabolic markers; metabolomics; physical activity.