Investigation of cytokines, oxidative stress, metabolic, and inflammatory biomarkers after orange juice consumption by normal and overweight subjects.
BACKGROUND
Abdominal adiposity has been linked to metabolic abnormalities, including dyslipidemia, oxidative stress, and low-grade inflammation.


OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that consumption of 100% orange juice (OJ) would improve metabolic, oxidative, and inflammatory biomarkers and cytokine levels in normal and overweight subjects with increased waist circumference.


METHODS
Subjects were divided into two groups in accordance with their body mass index: normal and overweight. Both groups of individuals consumed 750 mL of OJ daily for 8 weeks. Body composition (weight, height, percentage of fat mass, and waist circumference); metabolic biomarkers (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [LDL-C], high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [HDL-C], triglycerides, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, and glycated hemoglobin); oxidative biomarkers (malondialdehyde and DPPH(•)); inflammatory biomarkers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hsCRP]); cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-α, and IFN-γ); and diet were evaluated before and after consumption of OJ for 8 weeks.


RESULTS
The major findings of this study were: 1) no alteration in body composition in either group; 2) improvement of the lipid profile, evidenced by a reduction in total cholesterol and LDL-C; 3) a potential stimulation of the immune response due to increase in IL-12; 4) anti-inflammatory effect as a result of a marked reduction in hsCRP; and 5) antioxidant action by the enhancement of total antioxidant capacity and the reduction of lipid peroxidation, in both normal and overweight subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
OJ consumption has a positive effect on important biomarkers of health status in normal and overweight subjects, thereby supporting evidence that OJ acts as functional food and could be consumed as part of a healthy diet to prevent metabolic and chronic diseases.
Department of Food and Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Araraquara, Brazil (Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Departamento de Alimentos e Nutrição, Araraquara, SP 14801-902, Brazil).
Grace K Z S
GK
Dourado
Department of Food and Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Araraquara, Brazil (Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Departamento de Alimentos e Nutrição, Araraquara, SP 14801-902, Brazil); tcesar@fcfar.unesp.br.
Thais B
TB
Cesar
biomarkers; clinical trial; cytokines; orange juice; overweight; oxidative stress