Plasma Leptin and Adiponectin after a 4-Week Vegan Diet: A Randomized-Controlled Pilot Trial in Healthy Participants

Ann-Kathrin Lederer (), Maximilian Andreas Storz, Roman Huber, Luciana Hannibal and Elena Neumann
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Ann-Kathrin Lederer: Center for Complementary Medicine, Department of Medicine II, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
Maximilian Andreas Storz: Center for Complementary Medicine, Department of Medicine II, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
Roman Huber: Center for Complementary Medicine, Department of Medicine II, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
Luciana Hannibal: Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolism, Department of General Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine and Neonatology, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
Elena Neumann: Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Campus Kerckhoff, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, 61213 Bad Nauheim, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-14

Abstract: Adiponectin and leptin are important mediators of metabolic homeostasis. The actions of these adipokines extend beyond adipocytes and include systemic modulation of lipid and glucose metabolism, nutrient flux, and the immune response to changes in nutrition. Herein, we hypothesized that short-term intervention with a vegan diet might result in an improvement of plasma concentrations of adiponectin and leptin and the leptin/adiponectin ratio. We investigated the response of plasma adiponectin and leptin to a 4-week intervention with a vegan or meat-rich diet and its associations with sex, BMI and nutritional intake. Fifty-three healthy, omnivore participants (62% female, average age 31 years and BMI 23.1 kg/m 2 ) were randomly assigned to a vegan or meat-rich diet for 4 weeks. Plasma adiponectin and leptin were lower in men compared to women both at the beginning and end of the trial. The concentration of adiponectin in women was significantly higher both when comparing their transition from omnivorous to vegan diet ( p = 0.023) and also for vegan versus meat-rich diet at the end of the trial ( p = 0.001), whereas plasma leptin did not vary significantly. No changes in adiponectin were identified in men, yet an increase in leptin occurred upon their transition from an omnivorous to a meat-rich diet ( p = 0.019). Examination of plasma adiponectin/leptin ratio, a proposed marker of cardiovascular risk, did not differ after 4-weeks of dietary intervention. Our study revealed that adiponectin and leptin concentrations are sensitive to short-term dietary intervention in a sex-dependent manner. This dietary modification of leptin and adiponectin not only occurs quickly as demonstrated in our study, but it remains such as published in studies with individuals who are established (long-term) vegetarians compared to omnivorous.

Keywords: hormones; diet; nutrition; branched-chain amino acids; plant-based diet; sex; obesity; leptin/adiponectin ratio (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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