{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,23]],"date-time":"2026-08-23T14:56:45Z","timestamp":1787497005389,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,30]],"date-time":"2020-12-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1609286400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Elevated circulating branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs; isoleucine, leucine, and valine) are associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Reducing circulatory BCAAs by dietary restriction was suggested to mitigate these risks in rodent models, but this is a challenging paradigm to deliver in humans. We aimed to design and assess the feasibility of a diet aimed at reducing circulating BCAA concentrations in humans, while maintaining energy balance and overall energy\/protein intake. Twelve healthy individuals were assigned to either a 7-day BCAA-restricted diet or a 7-day control diet. Diets were iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric, with only BCAA levels differing between the two. The BCAA-restricted diet significantly reduced circulating BCAA concentrations by ~50% i.e., baseline 437 \u00b1 60 to 217 \u00b1 40 \u00b5mol\/L (p &lt; 0.005). Individually, both valine (245 \u00b1 33 to 105 \u00b1 23 \u00b5mol\/L; p &lt; 0.0001), and leucine (130 \u00b1 20 to 75 \u00b1 13 \u00b5mol\/L; p &lt; 0.05), decreased significantly in response to the BCAA-restricted diet. The BCAA-restricted diet marginally lowered Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) levels: baseline 1.5 \u00b1 0.2 to 1.0 \u00b1 0.1; (p = 0.096). We successfully lowered circulating BCAAs by 50% while maintaining iso-nitrogenous, iso-caloric dietary intakes, and while meeting the recommended daily allowances (RDA) for protein requirements. The present pilot study represents a novel dietary means by which to reduce BCAA, and as such, provides a blueprint for a potential dietary therapeutic in obesity\/diabetes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu13010095","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,30]],"date-time":"2020-12-30T09:35:23Z","timestamp":1609320923000},"page":"95","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":44,"title":["A Novel Dietary Intervention Reduces Circulatory Branched-Chain Amino Acids by 50%: A Pilot Study of Relevance for Obesity and Diabetes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Imran","family":"Ramzan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Clinical, Metabolic and Molecular Physiology, University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby DE22 6DT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Moira","family":"Taylor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Clinical, Metabolic and Molecular Physiology, University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby DE22 6DT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beth","family":"Phillips","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Clinical, Metabolic and Molecular Physiology, University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby DE22 6DT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Wilkinson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Clinical, Metabolic and Molecular Physiology, University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby DE22 6DT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8971-6635","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kenneth","family":"Smith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Clinical, Metabolic and Molecular Physiology, University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby DE22 6DT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kate","family":"Hession","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Clinical, Metabolic and Molecular Physiology, University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby DE22 6DT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Iskandar","family":"Idris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Clinical, Metabolic and Molecular Physiology, University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby DE22 6DT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Philip","family":"Atherton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Clinical, Metabolic and Molecular Physiology, University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby DE22 6DT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"448","DOI":"10.1038\/nm.2307","article-title":"Metabolite profiles and the risk of developing diabetes","volume":"17","author":"Wang","year":"2011","journal-title":"Nat. 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