Effect of moderate beer intake on the lipid composition of human red blood cell membranes

Growing evidence suggests that erythrocyte (red blood cell) membrane lipids are subject to changes during their lifespan. Factors such as the type of dietary intake and its composition contribute to the changes in red blood cell membranes. Due to the high antioxidant content of beer, researchers investigated the effect of moderate beer consumption on the lipid composition of red blood cell membranes in healthy overweight individuals.
Over four weeks, a prospective two-arm longitudinal cross-over study was conducted, where 36 participants were randomly assigned to alcohol-free beer group or traditional beer group. The lipids of RBCs membranes were assessed at the beginning and end of the intervention by thin-layer chromatography.
Four weeks of alcohol-free beer promoted changes in fatty acids, free cholesterol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylcholine. Meanwhile, traditional beer intake led to changes in fatty acids, free cholesterol, phospholipids, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine. The observed alterations in membrane lipids were found to be independent of sex and BMI as influencing factors
The study concludes that the lipid composition of erythrocyte membranes is distinctly but mildly influenced by the consumption of both non-alcoholic and conventional beer, with no effects on red blood cell membrane fluidity.
Source: López-Yerena, A., Muñoz-García, N., de Santisteban Villaplana, V., Padro, T., Badimon, L. (2024) Effect of moderate beer intake on the lipid composition of human red blood cell membranes. Nutrients, 16(20):3541.