The relationship between micronuclei in human lymphocytes and selected micronutrients in vegetarians and non-vegetarians

Abstract A vegetarian diet results in higher intake of vitamins and micronutrients, which – although providing antioxidant defence – may lead to deficiency in other micronutrients involved in DNA metabolism and stability (such as vitamins belonging to the B group). The principal difference among various vegetarian diets is the extent to which animal products are avoided. We have performed a pilot study to determine the relationship between the micronucleus frequency in lymphocytes and diet, and we compared the levels of Vitamins C and E, β-carotene, B 12 , folic acid, homocysteine and total antioxidant capacity in healthy vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The vegetarian group, consisting of 24 volunteers (13 women and 11 men), were matched for age and sex with 24 volunteers (12 women and 12 men) with a traditional dietary habit. Among the vegetarians were 13 lacto-ovo-vegetarians with average duration of vegetarian diet 10.8 years (ranging from 5 to 26 years) and 11 lacto-vegetarians with average duration of vegetarian diet 8.2 years (ranging from 3 to 15 years). Homocysteine, Vitamins C and E and β-carotene levels in plasma were assayed by HPLC, and serum folate and Vitamin B 12 were determined with Elecsys Immunoassay tests. The total antioxidant capacity of plasma was estimated by measuring the ferric-reducing activity in a spectrophotometric assay. Micronuclei were measured in cytokinesis-blocked lymphocytes. Vegetarians had significantly higher levels of Vitamin C and β-carotene (but not Vitamin E) in plasma compared with non-vegetarians ( P 12 between the monitored groups. Levels of folic acid in vegetarians correlated with length of vegetarianism ( r  = 0.62, P  = 0.001, N  = 24). Vegetarians had elevated levels of homocysteine compared with non-vegetarians ( P  = 0.007), as did vegetarian women compared with non-vegetarian women ( P  = 0.031). We did not find any differences in total antioxidant capacity or in micronucleus frequency between the groups. Micronuclei correlated with age ( r  = 0.62, P N  = 48), women having higher frequencies than men. Multifactorial regression analysis showed significant effects of age, sex and total antioxidant capacity on micronucleus frequency ( N  = 48, P