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The consumption of a diet rich in certain flavonoids, including the flavanol sub-class, has been associated with a reduced risk for vascular disease. We evaluated the effects of the regular consumption (14 d) of a flavanol-containing milk chocolate (FCMC) or cocoa butter chocolate (CBC) on variables related to vascular disease risk, oxidative stress and physical activity. Twenty-eight free-living, young (18–20 years old) male soccer players consumed daily 105 g of FCMC (168mg of flavanols) or CBC (,5mg of flavanols), as part of their normal diet. The consumption of FCMC was significantly associated with a decrease in diastolic blood pressure (25mmHg), mean blood pressure (25mmHg), plasma cholesterol (211%), LDLcholesterol (215%), malondialdehyde (212%), urate (211%) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity (211%), and an increase in vitamin E/cholesterol (þ12%). No relevant changes in these variables were associated with CBC consumption. No changes in the plasma levels of (2)-epicatechin were observed following analysis of fasting blood samples. In conclusion, FCMC consumption was associated with changes in several variables often associated with cardiovascular health and oxidant stress. The presence of significant quantities of flavanols inFCMC is likely to have been one of the contributing factors to these
results.

Flavonoids can exert beneficial health effects through multiple mechanisms. In this paper, we address the important, although not fully understood, capacity of flavonoids to interact with cell membranes. The interactions of polyphenols with bilayers include: (a) the partition of the more non-polar compounds in the hydrophobic interior of the membrane, and (b) the formation of hydrogen bonds between the polar head groups of lipids and the more hydrophilic flavonoids at the membrane interface. The consequences of these interactions are discussed. The induction of changes in membrane physical properties can affect the rates of membrane lipid and protein oxidation. The partition of certain flavonoids in the hydrophobic core can result in a chain breaking antioxidant activity. We suggest that interactions of polyphenols at the surface of bilayers through hydrogen bonding, can act to reduce the access of deleterious molecules (i.e. oxidants), thus protecting the structure and function of membranes.

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) have been shown to have potential health benefits. However, no data exist concerning their dietary intake. Therefore, PAs in common and infant foods from the U.S. were analyzed. On the bases of our data and those from the USDA's Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) of 1994-1996, the mean daily intake of PAs in the U.S. population (>2 y old) was estimated to be 57.7 mg/person. Monomers, dimers, trimers, and those above trimers contribute 7.1, 11.2, 7.8, and 73.9% of total PAs, respectively. The major sources of PAs in the American diet are apples (32.0%), followed by chocolate (17.9%) and grapes (17.8%). The 2- to 5-y-old age group (68.2 mg/person) and men >60 y old (70.8 mg/person) consume more PAs daily than other groups because they consume more fruit. The daily intake of PAs for 4- to 6-mo-old and 6- to 10-mo-old infants was estimated to be 1.3 mg and 26.9 mg, respectively, based on the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics. This study supports the concept that PAs account for a major fraction of the total flavonoids ingested in Western diets.

The capacity of the flavan-3-ols [(-)-epicatechin (EC) and (+)-catechin (CT)] and a B dimeric procyanidin (DP-B) to modulate phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced NF-kappaB activation in Jurkat T cells was investigated. The classic PMA-triggered increase in cell oxidants was prevented when cells were preincubated for 24 h with EC, CT, or DP-B (1.7-17.2 microM). PMA induced the phosphorylation of IKKbeta and the subsequent degradation of IkappaBalpha. These events were inhibited in cells pretreated with the flavonoids. PMA induced a 4.6-fold increase in NF-kappaB nuclear binding activity in control cells. Pretreatment with EC, CT, or DP-B decreased PMA-induced NF-kappaB binding activity and the transactivation of the NF-kappaB-driven gene IL-2. EC, CT, and DP-B inhibited, in vitro, NF-kappaB binding to its DNA consensus sequence, but they had no effect on the binding activity of CREB or OCT-1. Thus, EC, CT, or DP-B can influence the immune response by modulating NF-kappaB activation. This modulation can occur at early (regulation of oxidant levels, IKK activation) as well as late (binding of NF-kappaB to DNA) stages of the NF-kappaB activation cascade. A model is presented for possible interactions between DP-B and NF-kappaB proteins, which could lead to the inhibition of NF-kappaB binding to kappaB sites.

Diets rich in flavonoids have been associated with reduced risk for cardiovascular disease. This may be due, in part, to flavonoid-induced alterations in eicosanoid synthesis. Our objective was to identify plant-derived beverages that alter synthesis of prostacyclin in cultured human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC), and to determine if these beverages could alter in vivo 6-keto-prostaglandin F(1alpha) (a stable metabolite of prostacyclin) synthesis and platelet function. HAEC were treated with nine commonly consumed beverages to determine their effects on prostacyclin synthesis under acute and chronic treatment regimens. Orange, purple grape, and pomegranate juices and coffee (6-9 mL/kg) were then provided to 28 fasted, healthy adult subjects (eight men and 20 women) on five separate days. Plasma samples were collected immediately following juice consumption (baseline), and at 2 and 6 hours post-consumption. On an acute basis, administration of HAEC with pomegranate juice increased media prostacyclin. Chronic exposure to purple grape and pomegranate juice increased aortic endothelial cell prostacyclin synthesis (38% and 61%, respectively; P <.05). The consumption of purple grape, pomegranate, and orange juice prolonged epinephrine/collagen-induced clotting time (P <.05). Purple grape juice increased plasma 6-keto-prostaglandin F(1alpha) (20%; P <.05) at 2 hours; pomegranate and orange juice did not significantly influence plasma prostacyclin concentrations. Consistent with the in vitro data, coffee consumption did not influence clotting time or plasma prostacyclin concentrations. These results indicate that the HAEC model system can provide a qualitative means to screen food and food-derived products for biologic activity related to cardiovascular health.

Epidemiologic studies suggest an inverse association of tea consumption with cardiovascular disease. The antioxidant effects of flavonoids in tea (including preventing oxidative damage to LDL) are among the potential mechanisms that could underlie the protective effects. Other possible mechanisms include attenuating the inflammatory process in atherosclerosis, reducing thrombosis, promoting normal endothelial function, and blocking expression of cellular adhesion molecules. Cocoa and chocolate can also be rich sources of flavonoids. Flavanols and procyanidins isolated from cocoa exhibit strong antioxidant properties in-vitro. In acute feeding studies, flavanol-rich cocoa and chocolate increased plasma antioxidant capacity and reduced platelet reactivity. Based on limited data, approximately 150 mg of flavonoids is needed to trigger a rapid antioxidant effect and changes in prostacyclin. Some dose-response evidence demonstrates an antioxidant effect with approximately 500 mg flavonoids. Brewed tea typically contains approximately 172 mg total flavonoids per 235 ml (brewed for 2 min); hence, consumption of 1 and 3.5 cups of tea would be expected to elicit acute and chronic physiologic effects, respectively. Chocolate is more variable with some products containing essentially no flavonoids (0.09 mg procyanidin/g), whereas others are high in flavonoids (4 mg procyanidin/g). Thus, approximate estimates of flavonoid rich chocolate needed to exert acute and chronic effects are 38 and 125 g, respectively. Collectively, the antioxidant effects of flavonoid-rich foods may reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

We examined whether cocoa, in its isolated procyanidin fractions (monomer through decamer), would modulate cytokine production at the levels of transcription and protein secretion in both resting and phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). In resting cells, interleukin (IL)-1beta and IL-4 gene expression from cocoa-treated cells varied markedly among the subjects tested. However, at the protein level, the larger fractions (pentamer through decamer) stimulated a dramatic increase in IL-1beta concentration (up to ninefold) with increasing degree of polymerization. Similarly, these larger fractions augmented IL-4 concentration by as much as 2 pg/ml, whereas the control displayed levels nearly undetectable. In the presence of PHA, gene expression also seemed to be most affected by the larger procyanidin fractions. The pentameric through decameric fractions increased IL-1 beta expression by 7-19% compared with PHA control, whereas the hexameric through decameric fractions significantly inhibited PHA-induced IL-4 transcription in the range of 71-86%. This observation at the transcription level for IL-1 beta was reflected at the protein level in PHA-stimulated PBMC. Significant reductions in mitogen-induced IL-4 production were also seen at the protein level with the hexamer, heptamer and octamer. Individual oligomeric cocoa fractions were unstimulatory for IL-2 in resting PBMC. However, when induced with PHA, the pentamer, hexamer and heptamer fractions caused a 61-73% inhibition in IL-2 gene expression. This study offers additional data for the consideration of the health benefits of dietary polyphenols from a wide variety of foods, including those benefits associated specifically with cocoa and chocolate consumption.

In the current study, we investigated the usefulness of reversed-phase and normal-phase chromatography for comparing the separation of low molecular weight flavonoids in green tea versus the oligomeric procyanidins in cocoa. The results of this study demonstrated that the reversed-phase technique was better suited for the separation of the flavan-3-ols and flavonols in green tea while the normal-phase method was superior for separation of flavan-3-ol oligomers in cocoa. Therefore, it was concluded that both techniques are required for a comprehensive survey of the flavonoid classes that are ubiquitous in nature.