title: Consumption of chokeberry (Aronia mitschurinii) products modestly lowered blood pressure and reduced low-grade inflammation in patients with mildly elevated blood pressure.
abstract: Previous studies suggest that consumption of chokeberries may improve cardiovascular disease risk factor profiles. We hypothesized that chokeberries (Aronia mitschurinii) have beneficial effects on blood pressure, low-grade inflammation, serum lipids, serum glucose, and platelet aggregation in patients with untreated mild hypertension. A total of 38 participants were enrolled into a 16-week single blinded crossover trial. The participants were randomized to use cold-pressed 100% chokeberry juice (300 mL/d) and oven-dried chokeberry powder (3 g/d), or matched placebo products in random order for 8 weeks each with no washout period. The daily portion of chokeberry products was prepared from approximately 336 g of fresh chokeberries. Urinary excretion of various polyphenols and their metabolites increased during the chokeberry period, indicating good compliance. Chokeberries decreased daytime blood pressure and low-grade inflammation. The daytime ambulatory diastolic blood pressure decreased (-1.64 mm Hg, P = .02), and the true awake ambulatory systolic (-2.71 mm Hg, P = .077) and diastolic (-1.62 mm Hg, P = .057) blood pressure tended to decrease. The concentrations of interleukin (IL) 10 and tumor necrosis factor α decreased (-1.9 pg/mL [P = .008] and -0.67 pg/mL [P = .007], respectively) and tended to decrease for IL-4 and IL-5 (-4.5 pg/mL [P = .084] and -0.06 pg/mL [P = .059], respectively). No changes in serum lipids, lipoproteins, glucose, and in vitro platelet aggregation were noted with the chokeberry intervention. These findings suggest that inclusion of chokeberry products in the diet of participants with mildly elevated blood pressure has minor beneficial effects on cardiovascular health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Turku, Finland; Joint Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory of University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Britt-Marie
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Loo
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Erlund
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Raika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Koli
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Pauli
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Puukka
authors.affiliation: Natural Resources Institute Finland, Bio-based Business and Industry, Jokioinen, Finland.
authors.forename: Jarkko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hellström
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kristiina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wähälä
authors.affiliation: Natural Resources Institute Finland, Bio-based Business and Industry, Jokioinen, Finland.
authors.forename: Pirjo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mattila
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Turku, Finland; Department of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. Electronic address: antti.jula@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jula
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D000067030:Fruit and Vegetable Juices / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D046936:Photinia / Q000737:chemistry*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000494:pharmacology*; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000652:urine; D016037:Single-Blind Method
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D016207:Cytokines; D018977:Micronutrients; D028321:Plant Preparations; D059808:Polyphenols
keywords: Cardiovascular diseases; Crossover studies; Cytokines; Hypertension; Polyphenols