Biomarker pAtterns Reflecting habITual fOod iNtakE: the BARITONE Project

PURPOSE AND AIMS

The aims of the present project are to:

1. Identify and validate biomarker patterns of intake of the different food sources for protein, i.e., meat, fish and plant-based sources
2. Identify and validate biomarker patterns of high and low intake of the food group vegetables, fruit and berries.

Validation here includes evaluation of plausibility, robustness, and dose-response.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION Validated biomarkers are still lacking for food groups that are crucial when evaluating dietary intake, such as meat, fish and plant-based sources of protein (i.e., legumes such as lentils, peas and beans and cereal proteins such as oat- and wheat-protein); and for berries, fruits, and vegetables. For sources of protein, a well-controlled cross-over trial is needed where biomarkers of any intake of these different sources are evaluated in different biofluids. For berries, fruit and vegetables, a challenge is that no obvious control food group exists. Individuals with low consumption from this food group may instead consume any type of food. Hence, the investigators aim to evaluate biomarkers that separate consumers of low vs high intake. The investigators will follow the criteria for discovering and validating biomarkers suggested by Dragstedt et al (2018), here applied to patterns of biomarkers. The investigators will identify patterns of putative biomarkers of recent intake in biofluids in a well-controlled feeding trial (BARITONE-intervention) and develop prediction models of being a consumer/non-consumer or high/low consumer using machine learning. The robustness and dose-response of the models will be tested in data on habitual intake (BARITONE sample). Data for protein sources and berries, fruits and vegetables will be generated in the planned BARITONE-intervention trial.