Tier 3 — preclinical

Longitudinal association of dietary spermidine with hepatic function indexes and cardiometabolic traits in older adults with metabolic syndrome

Andrés López-González et al.

European Journal of Nutrition 2026 65(5):214

Bibliography

PubMed: PMID 42455181
DOI: 10.1007/s00394-026-03981-1
Competing interests: Several PREDIMED-Plus investigators disclosed grants, fees or non-financial support from food, pharmaceutical and nutrition-related organizations outside the submitted work.

Study snapshot

Design	Longitudinal observational dietary-exposure analysis nested in PREDIMED-Plus
Model	Overweight/obese older adults with metabolic syndrome
Sample	2,664
Intervention	No spermidine randomization; dietary spermidine estimated at baseline, 6 months and 1 year
Duration	1 year
Endpoints	Fatty liver index; Hepatic steatosis index; ALT; AST; HbA1c; BMI; Waist circumference; Hip circumference

What the study showed, in plain terms

Within PREDIMED-Plus, participants whose dietary spermidine intake was highest and increased over one year also showed more favorable changes in liver-function indexes and several cardiometabolic measures.

Key findings

The highest/increasing intake cluster had larger reductions in fatty liver and hepatic steatosis indexes, liver enzymes, HbA1c and anthropometric measures. Because spermidine exposure itself was not randomized, these results cannot establish a spermidine treatment effect.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Observational exposure analysis within an intervention cohort, FFQ-estimated spermidine, strong potential for co-varying diet/lifestyle changes and no isolated supplement exposure. An erratum was published on 10 October 2026 (DOI 10.1007/s00394-026-04100-w).

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Khaled Mahmoud