Affiliation of Amino acid and metabolite concentrations with skeletal muscle and inflammatory markers. (a) Associations in younger adults and (b) in older adults. *PBiogerontology (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s10522-025-10206-1
The lack of muscle mass and power poses an more and more vital problem for an growing older society. Prof. Kristina Norman’s group on the German Institute of Human Diet Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) has now proven that amino acid profiles may function promising biomarkers for muscle well being in older folks. These findings may assist determine folks at elevated danger of sarcopenia earlier, enabling focused interventions to boost high quality of life as folks age. The outcomes have been revealed within the journal Biogerontology.
Growing older is characterised by a gradual and inevitable decline in muscle power and mass, which might result in sarcopenia. The lack of skeletal muscle is particular person and will depend on components resembling bodily exercise, age, gender and metabolic well being, highlighting the complexity of growing older as a multifaceted course of.
Amino acid profiling can be utilized as a software to evaluate skeletal muscle well being in older folks. Free amino acids are distributed in blood plasma and cells, the place they’re influenced by metabolic adjustments, weight-reduction plan, way of life and genetic components.
Though they make up solely 2% of the whole amino acids within the physique, these circulating amino acids play a central function in sustaining skeletal muscle operate and are concerned in numerous organic processes, resembling irritation and insulin sensitivity. They’re additionally related to age-related muscle loss and the metabolic adjustments noticed in sarcopenia.
Circulating amino acids as the important thing to muscle well being
Skeletal muscle serves as the first supply of circulating amino acids, with ranges proportional to muscle mass. This relationship underscores the significance of circulating amino acid concentrations as indicators of amino acid homeostasis in muscle tissue. It’s recognized that older adults with bodily frailty and sarcopenia present a unique amino acid profile to their wholesome friends, suggesting that metabolic adjustments are mirrored in circulating amino acid concentrations.
Prof. Norman, head of the Division of Diet and Gerontology at DIfE, and her group have set themselves the aim of figuring out an amino acid sample in wholesome older adults so as to decide future biomarkers for the deterioration of muscle well being. Of their present examine, they examined the relationships between free amino acids, inflammatory components and muscle mass and performance in older folks in comparison with youthful folks.
Younger and older adults in contrast
The scientists analyzed the information of 131 wholesome women and men, together with 30 younger adults aged between 18 and 35 and 101 older adults aged between 65 and 85. The analysis included the measured values for weight, top, physique mass index (BMI) and hand grip power, in addition to the physique composition recorded utilizing bioelectrical impedance evaluation and the skeletal muscle mass and skeletal muscle mass index derived from this.
Within the blood samples taken, the researchers decided the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein and interleukin 6. In cooperation with the DIfE Division of Molecular Toxicology, they decided the concentrations of chosen important (EAA) and branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) utilizing ultra-high efficiency liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.
As anticipated, the older topics had a better BMI and decrease skeletal muscle mass and hand grip power. Irritation ranges didn’t differ considerably between the age teams. “The older adults had lower levels of EAA and BCAA. These altered amino acid profiles are associated with lower muscle mass and altered inflammation levels compared to younger adults,” says Prof. Norman, summarizing an important discovering of the present examine.
The evaluation confirmed that EAA and BCAA correlate positively with skeletal muscle index and hand grip power in older adults. This demonstrated a transparent hyperlink between important and branched-chain amino acids and skeletal muscle well being and inflammatory markers in wholesome older adults.
Future prospects: from biomarkers to prevention methods
These findings verify outcomes from earlier analysis displaying that circulating amino acids replicate muscle well being in older populations. First creator Donna Li explains, “Our analysis shows that amino acid profiles could potentially serve as early biomarkers to detect deterioration in muscle health. Next, we need to study individuals with sarcopenia to also understand pathological changes in amino acid concentrations.”
Prof. Norman provides, “We need further studies to understand how our findings can be translated into preventive and therapeutic approaches to maintain muscle health in old age.”
Finally, the goal is to develop individualized intervention methods, e.g. based mostly on weight-reduction plan and train, that focus on amino acid metabolism and promote muscle well being in previous age. On this approach, the standard of lifetime of many older folks could possibly be improved.
Extra info:
Ching Wah Donna Li et al, Important amino acids and branched-chain amino acids are related to skeletal muscle and inflammatory parameters in older age, Biogerontology (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s10522-025-10206-1
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Deutsches Institut für Ernährungsforschung Potsdam-Rehbrücke
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