Effects of blackcurrant-based juice on atherosclerosis-related biomarkers in cultured macrophages and in human subjects after consumption of a high-energy meal

Abstract

Regular consumption of fruit and vegetables may be associated with decreased CVD risk. In the present study, we investigated the effects of blackcurrant (BC) juice, rich in polyphenols and ascorbic acid, on oxidative and inflammatory biomarkers in cultured macrophages in vitro and in human subjects with an atherosclerosis-prone phenotype (after consumption of a high-energy meal). In cultured macrophages (RAW264.7), BC treatment significantly inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation as indicated by lower mRNA levels of TNF-a, IL-1b and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and lower nuclear p65 levels indicating decreased NF-kB activity. iNOS protein levels were lower and haem oxygenase 1 levels higher in BC-treated cells when compared with untreated controls. Subjects given a high-energy meal had elevated serum glucose and insulin levels with no significant difference between the BC-based juice and placebo treatment groups. TAG following meal ingestion tended to be attenuated after the BC treatment. Plasma ascorbic acid and radical-scavenging capacity were decreased following placebo meal consumption; however, BC significantly elevated both parameters compared with baseline and placebo ingestion. Plasma oxidised LDL, a-tocopherol and paraoxonase activity were unchanged in both treatment groups. Furthermore, production of TNF-a and IL-1b was not significantly changed by BC meal consumption. The present results suggest potential antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of BC in vitro in cultured macrophages. Although the observations were not directly transferable to a postprandial in vivo situation, the present results show that BC juice consumption may improve postprandial antioxidant status as indicated by higher ascorbic acid levels and free radical-scavenging capacity in plasma.

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Foods and Derived Products Containing Ellagitannins and Anthocyanins on Cardiometabolic Biomarkers: Analysis of Factors Influencing Variability of the Individual Responses

“…After detailed analysis of the full text, 113 articles were rejected, due to lack of relevant outcomes, aspects of the study design, etc. Finally, 128 human RCTs published between March 1995 and March 2016 (included) [34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,…”

Polyphenol-Rich Bilberry Ameliorates Total Cholesterol and LDL-Cholesterol when Implemented in the Diet of Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats

“…Bilberries (vaccinuim myrtillus) and blackcurrants (ribes nigrum) are food sources that are particularly rich in bioavailable anthocyanins and flavonols [6,7]. Moreover, the relative antioxidant activity of anthocyanins and flavonols in bilberries and blackcurrants is especially high [8] and several studies have demonstrated beneficial effects of these berries on antioxidant status and low-grade inflammation [9][10][11][12].…”

Postprandial Paraoxonase 1 Activity Following Consumption of Recommended Amounts of Mixed Meals in Healthy Males

“…Although spinach and broccoli are rich in antioxidants such as -tocopherol and carotenoids, the changes in neither PON1 lactonase nor arylesterase activity differed between the mixed meal with vegetables (SMFV meal) and that without vegetables (SMF meal) in this study. Therefore, changes in PON1 activity with the consumption of vegetables following ordinary meals may not occur in the postprandial state, as was in case of a study with blackcurrant juice, which is rich in water-soluble antioxidant polyphenols and ascorbic acid 26) . On the other hand, prior reports on human studies have shown that the intake of antioxidants exerts beneficial effects on PON1 activity [27][28][29][30][31] .…”