Metabolomic profiles impacted by brief mindfulness intervention with contributions to improved health

Abstract

Mounting evidence indicates that mindfulness-based interventions improve physical and mental health. However, whether brief mindfulness intervention supports health benefits by regulating metabolic profiles is poorly understood. To address this gap, this randomized controlled trial compared ten 1-hour sessions of integrative body-mind training (IBMT) with relaxation training (RT) in 42 participants. Untargeted metabolomics was performed on fasting serum samples to investigate the physiological effects of the interventions on metabolic profiles. After IBMT, significant increases were observed in glycine derivatives, glutamate, and tetrahexosylceramide, while multiple sulfur containing compounds decreased. In contrast, RT yielded no significant intervention effects. A direct comparison between IBMT and RT revealed significant group differences in the levels of glycine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphoglycerol, phosphatidylserine, sphingomyelin derivatives, and α-linolenic acid. Further, pathway and enrichment analyses confirmed the effects of IBMT on amino acid and lipid metabolism with significant alterations to sphingolipid, α-linolenic acid, and linoleic acid metabolism as well as histidine and pyruvate metabolism. These findings suggest that IBMT can reprogram key metabolic pathways. In conclusion, this study offers insights into how a brief mindfulness intervention modulates metabolic profiles and highlights the potential of mindfulness-based interventions to promote health through metabolic regulation. These findings may guide the development of future mindfulness-based health promotion strategies.

Keywords: Amino acid metabolism; Integrative body-mind training; Lipid metabolism; Metabolomics; Physical and mental health; Relaxation training.

Fig. 1

Schematic overview of the study protocol.

Fig. 2

A A heatmap of significant metabolites (FDR q < 0.05) comparing IBMT-T1 vs. IBMT-T2. B Volcano plot of IBMT-T1 vs. IBMT-T2, showing significant metabolites demonstrating p values < 0.05 and fold changes > 2 or < 0.5.

Fig. 3

PLS-DA score plot (A) and variable importance projection scores (B) comparing IBMT-T1 vs. IBMT-T2 groups. Each dot in the PLS-DA score plot (A) represents a sample from baseline (T1) or post-intervention (T2). The directionality and influence of metabolites are depicted as a VIP score (B).

Fig. 4

Pathway (A) and Enzyme Enrichment (B) analyses within the IBMT group (IBMT-T1 vs. IBMT-T2). Data were plotted as -log₁₀(p) versus pathway impact (A) and enrichment ratio with P-value versus enrichment (B).

Fig. 5

Pathway (A) and Enzyme Enrichment (B) analyses of IBMT-T2 vs. RT-T2. Data are plotted as -log₁₀(p) versus pathway impact (A) and enrichment ratio with P-value versus enrichment (B).

Fig. 6

PLS-DA score plot (A) and variable importance projection scores (B) of IBMT-T2 vs. RT-T2. Each dot in the PLS-DA score plot (A) represents a sample from the post-interventions. The directionality and influence of metabolites are depicted as a VIP score (B).

Fig. 7

Summary of the metabolome that is regulated by the IBMT Intervention. Metabolites and derivatives that were increased after the IBMT intervention are shown in red, while decreases are denoted as blue. Compounds in black are pathway intermediaries. Created with BioRender.com.