Some differences in nutritional biomarkers are detected between consumers and non-consumers of organic foods: findings from the BioNutriNet Project

Julia Baudry (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) , Véronique Ducros (6) , Nathalie Druesne Pecollo (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) , Pilar Galan (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) , Serge Hercberg (1, 7) , Laurent Debrauwer (8) , Marie-Josèphe Amiot (9) , Denis Lairon (10) , Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

1 CRESS (U1153 / UMR_A_1125 / UMR_S_1153) - Centre de Recherche Épidémiologie et Statistique Sorbonne Paris Cité
2 CRESS - U1153 - Equipe 3: EREN- Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle
3 UP13 - Université Paris 13
4 CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM]
5 USPC - Université Sorbonne Paris Cité
6 Service de Biochimie
7 Hôpital Avicenne [AP-HP]
8 E20 - MetaToul AXIOM
9 UMR MOISA - Marchés, Organisations, Institutions et Stratégies d'Acteurs
10 C2VN - Centre recherche en CardioVasculaire et Nutrition = Center for CardioVascular and Nutrition research

Meta-analyses have compared the nutrient content of both organic and non-organic foods. However, the impacts of such variations on human nutritional biomarkers still need to be assessed. In a nested clinical study from the NutriNet-Santé study, we aimed to compare the nutritional status of “organic” and “non-organic” food consumers matched on a propensity score. Based on self-reported organic food consumption assessed through a food frequency questionnaire, 150 low and 150 high organic food consumers were selected with < 10% or > 50% of organic food in their diet respectively (expressed as the proportion of organic food in the whole diet in g/d). Participants were matched using a propensity score derived from sociodemographic, food and health variables. Fasting plasma samples were analyzed using acknowledged laboratory methods for measurements of iron status, magnesium, copper, cadmium, carotenoids, vitamins A and E, and fatty acids. We found significant differences between low and high organic food consumers with similar dietary patterns, with respect to plasma levels of magnesium, fat-soluble micronutrients (α-carotene, β-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin), fatty acids (linoleic, palmitoleic, γ-linolenic and docosapentanoeic acids), and some fatty acid desaturase indexes. No differences between the two groups were detected for plasma levels of iron, copper, cadmium, lycopene, β–cryptoxanthin, vitamins A and E. If confirmed by other studies, our data suggest that a high consumption of organic foods, compared to very low consumption, modulates, to some extent, the nutritional status of individuals with similar dietary patterns. Further research including prospective cohort studies is needed to evaluate he clinical relevance of such differences.

Mots clés: nutritional quality; organic food; biomarkers; fatty acids; carotenoids; vitamins; minerals; epidemiological study; carotenoid; biomarker; fatty acid

Mots clés: nutrition; alimentation biologique; étude épidémiologique; carotenoide; vitamine; acide gras; minéraux; biomarqueur; qualité nutritionnelle

Domaines: Alimentation et Nutrition; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Julia Baudry, Véronique Ducros, Nathalie Druesne Pecollo, Pilar Galan, Serge Hercberg, et al.. Some differences in nutritional biomarkers are detected between consumers and non-consumers of organic foods: findings from the BioNutriNet Project. Current Developments in Nutrition, 2019, 15 (3), pp.3. ⟨10.1093/cdn/nzy090⟩. ⟨hal-01930384⟩