Evidence Hub

Investigating the Impact of Protein Supplementation from Different Sources on Advanced Glycation End Products in Older Adults in Singapore Following a Healthy Dietary Pattern

Marcus Ting, I. Mak, Yue-Ying Yao, A. Chng, C. Khoo, Jung Eun Kim

Nutrients, 2026

55 participants

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Protein supplementation may elevate advanced glycation end products (AGEs) through higher dietary AGE (dAGE) content and increase amino acid-driven endogenous formation. Protein supplementation from different sources may differentially affect AGE levels, possibly through differences in amino acid composition, digestion and metabolism, but evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) remains limited. This study aimed to examine the effect of protein supplementation from either casein (animal-based) or soy (plant-based) protein isolates on circulating, skin, and dAGE levels in older adults following a healthy dietary pattern (HDP). Methods: In this 16-week RCT, 55 older adults (mean age: 66 years old) in Singapore were assigned either to control (no supplementation), casein protein isolate supplementation, or soy protein isolate supplementation. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT05400005. Results and Discussion: Overall, there were no alterations in dietary, skin and total circulating AGE levels after protein supplementation when adhering to an HDP such as My Healthy Plate (MHP). However, different sources of protein supplementation resulted in differential changes in specific plasma AGE markers. Two-way ANOVA analysis showed that soy protein supplementation led to a significant increase in plasma N(6)-(1-carboxymethyl)-L-lysine (CML) compared to the other groups (week 0: 0.72 ± 0.10, week 16: 0.80 ± 0.10, pint = 0.040), while a…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 55 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free