Age-Dependent Serum Volatilomics of Milk and Yogurt Intake: A Randomized Crossover Study in Healthy Young and Older Men

Nutritional biomarkers of dairy intake can be affected by both food transformation and the metabolic status of the consumer. To assess these effects, this study investigated the se r u m volatilome of 14 young (YA) and 14 older (OA) adult men undergoing a 3 week restriction of dairy and fermented foods followed by a randomized crossover acute intake of mil k and yogurt. 3,5-Dimethyl-octan-2-one was identified as a potential marker of d a i r y product intake as its response after both mil k and yogurt intake was significantly increased during the postprandial phase but significa n t l y decreased in fasting serum samples of the OA group after the restriction phase. The postprandial response of two metabolites was significantly different for the two dairy products while 19 metabolites were modulated by age. Remarkably, the response of all age-dependent metabolites was higher in the OA tha n in the YA group after mil k or yogurt intake, whereas at the end of the restriction phase, their fasting concentrations were lower in the OA than in the YA group. Among these, p-cresol, a specific marker of colonic protein fermentation, had a significant response in the OA but not the YA group, which may suggest impaired intestinal processing of dietary proteins in the OA group.

Automated summary

This study investigated the serum volatilome of young and older adult men to examine the effects of dairy and fermented food intake. The results identified 3,5-Dimethyl-octan-2-one as a potential marker of dairy product intake. The response of metabolites differed between the two dairy products and age groups, suggesting age-related differences in metabolite modulation and impaired intestinal processing of dietary proteins in the older group.