Consumption of aged white wine modulates cardiovascular risk factors via circulating endothelial progenitor cells and inflammatory biomarkers.

Background & Aims: There is compelling evidence showing that moderate alcohol consumption reduces cardiovascular risk factors related to atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of aged white wine (AWW) and gin on circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) and the expression of cell adhesion molecules, inflammatory cytokines and chemokines related to atherosclerosis in high cardiovascular risk subjects.

Methods: This was an open, randomized, controlled, crossover study in 38 high-risk male volunteers between 55 and 80 years of age randomized to receive 30 g of ethanol/day as AWW or gin during 3 weeks.

Polyphenol Levels Are Inversely Correlated with Body Weight and Obesity in an Elderly Population after 5 Years of Follow Up (The Randomised PREDIMED Study).

Overweight and obesity have been steadily increasing in recent years and currently represent a serious threat to public health. Few human studies have investigated the relationship between polyphenol intake and body weight. Our aim was to assess the relationship between urinary polyphenol levels and body weight.

Dietary patterns and the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, asthma, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Diet and lifestyle play a significant role in the development chronic diseases; however the full complexity of this relationship is not yet understood. Dietary pattern investigation, which reflects the complexity of dietary intake, has emerged as an alternative and complementary approach for examining the association between diet and chronic diseases. Literature on this association has largely focused on individual nutrients, with conflicting outcomes, but individuals consume a combination of foods from many groups that form dietary patterns.

Polyphenol intake from a Mediterranean diet decreases inflammatory biomarkers related to atherosclerosis: a substudy of the PREDIMED trial.

High dietary polyphenol intake is associated with reduced all-cause mortality and a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. However, the mechanisms involved are not fully understood. The aim of the present substudy of the PREvención con DIetaMEDiterránea (Prevention with Mediterranean diet; PREDIMED) trial was to analyse the relationship between polyphenol intake measured by total urinary polyphenol excretion (TPE), and circulating inflammatory biomarkers and cardiovascular risk factors in elderly individuals.

Effects of Polyphenol, Measured by a Biomarker of Total Polyphenols in Urine, on Cardiovascular Risk Factors After a Long-Term Follow-Up in the PREDIMED Study.

Several epidemiological studies have shown an inverse association between the consumption of polyphenol-rich foods and risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, accuracy and reliability of these studies may be increased using urinary total polyphenol excretion (TPE) as a biomarker for total polyphenol intake. Our aim was to assess if antioxidant activity, measured by a Folin-Ciocalteu assay in urine, is correlated with an improvement in cardiovascular risk factors (blood pressure and serum glucose, cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride concentrations) in an elderly population at high risk.

Moderate red wine consumption is associated with a lower prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in the PREDIMED population.

Previous studies on the association between alcohol intake and the development of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) have yielded inconsistent results. Besides, few studies have analysed the effects of red wine (RW) consumption on the prevalence of the MetS and its components. As moderate RW drinkers have a better lipid profile and lower incidence rates of diabetes, hypertension and abdominal obesity, all components of the MetS, it was hypothesised that moderate RW consumption could be associated with a lower prevalence of the MetS.

Identification of phenolic compounds in red wine extract samples and zebrafish embryos by HPLC-ESI-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS.

The zebrafish embryo is a highly interesting biological model with applications in different scientific fields, such as biomedicine, pharmacology and toxicology. In this study, we used liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation-linear ion trap quadrupole-Orbitrap-mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS) to identify the polyphenol compounds in a red wine extract and zebrafish embryos. Phenolic compounds and anthocyanin metabolites were determined in zebrafish embryos previously exposed to the red wine extract.

Effects of food processing on polyphenol contents: a systematic analysis using Phenol-Explorer data.

Scope: The Phenol-Explorer web database (http://www.phenol-explorer.eu) was recently updated with new data on polyphenol retention due to food processing.

Polyphenol intake and mortality risk: a re-analysis of the PREDIMED trial.

Background: Polyphenols may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other chronic diseases due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as their beneficial effects on blood pressure, lipids and insulin resistance. However, no previous epidemiological studies have evaluated the relationship between the intake of total polyphenols intake and polyphenol subclasses with overall mortality. Our aim was to evaluate whether polyphenol intake is associated with all-cause mortality in subjects at high cardiovascular risk.

Phenol-Explorer 3.0: a major update of the Phenol-Explorer database to incorporate data on the effects of food processing on polyphenol content.

Polyphenols are a major class of bioactive phytochemicals whose consumption may play a role in the prevention of a number of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and cancers. Phenol-Explorer, launched in 2009, is the only freely available web-based database on the content of polyphenols in food and their in vivo metabolism and pharmacokinetics. Here we report the third release of the database (Phenol-Explorer 3.

Light gazpachos contain higher phytochemical levels than conventional gazpachos.

Light gazpachos in comparison with conventional alternatives are interesting because of their low percentage of fat and high content of bioactive compounds that are beneficial for human health. An hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer was used to identify those metabolites that have the greatest impact on the overall metabolic profile in light gazpachos as compared to conventional alternatives. Individual polyphenols were quantified using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Polyphenols excreted in urine as biomarkers of total polyphenol intake.

Background: Nutritional biomarkers have several advantages in acquiring data for epidemiological and clinical studies over traditional dietary assessment tools, such as food frequency questionnaires. While food frequency questionnaires constitute a subjective methodology, biomarkers can provide a less biased and more accurate measure of specific nutritional intake. A precise estimation of polyphenol consumption requires blood or urine sample biomarkers, although their association is usually highly complex.

The effect of polyphenol consumption on blood pressure.

Several observational and intervention studies have found an inverse association between the risk of cardiovascular disease and the consumption of polyphenol-rich foods and beverages such as cocoa, fruit and vegetables, tea, virgin olive oil and wine. We present here an overview of the latest research on the beneficial effect of dietary polyphenols on blood pressure, focusing on the development of urine biomarkers for an accurate estimation of polyphenol intake. Total polyphenols (TP) excreted in spot urine samples have been successfully used as a biomarker of the consumption, bioavailability and accumulation of TP in a cross-sectional clinical trial.

The antioxidant activity of coumarins and flavonoids.

Coumarins and flavonoids are heterocyclic molecules that have been associated with beneficial effects on human health, such as reducing the risk of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and brain diseases. These effects are thought to be related to the radical scavenging effect, due to their antioxidant activities, along with other possible mechanisms, such as anti-inflammatory properties and interaction with several enzymes. Over the past two decades, there have been an increasing number of publications on coumarins and flavonoids, which demonstrate the importance of understanding the chemistry behind the antioxidant activities of both natural and synthesized compounds, considering the benefits from their dietary ingestion as well as pharmacological use.

Polyphenol-rich foods exhibit DNA antioxidative properties and protect the glutathione system in healthy subjects.

Scope: Polyphenols (ingested via food items) can decrease DNA, and oxidative damage of proteins and lipids. However, polyphenol effects in healthy populations have not been well defined. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between urinary total polyphenol excretion (TPE), a biomarker of total polyphenol intake (TPI), polyphenol-rich foods, and oxidative stress biomarkers in healthy adults of different ages participating in the cross-sectional PAScual MEDicina study.

Evaluation of a method to characterize the phenolic profile of organic and conventional tomatoes.

The present study aims to compare the phenolic profiles of organic and conventional tomatoes bought in the market. For the quantification and identification of individual polyphenols, liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in tandem mode (LC-MS/MS) was carried out. Confirmation of the compounds previously identified on the triple-quadrupole was accomplished by injection in the high-resolution system (QToF-MS).

Polyphenol-rich foods in the Mediterranean diet are associated with better cognitive function in elderly subjects at high cardiovascular risk.

Brain oxidative processes play a major role in age-related cognitive decline, thus consumption of antioxidant-rich foods might help preserve cognition. Our aim was to assess whether consumption of antioxidant-rich foods in the Mediterranean diet relates to cognitive function in the elderly. In asymptomatic subjects at high cardiovascular risk (n = 447; 52% women; age 55-80 y) enrolled in the PREDIMED study, a primary prevention dietary-intervention trial, we assessed food intake and cardiovascular risk profile, determined apolipoprotein E genotype, and used neuropsychological tests to evaluate cognitive function.

A metabolomic approach differentiates between conventional and organic ketchups.

The agronomic environments in which tomatoes are cultivated potentially affect the levels of antioxidants and other metabolites in commercial products. In this study, biochemical and metabolomic techniques were used to assess the differences between ketchups produced by organic and conventional systems. An untargeted metabolomic approach using QToF-MS was used to identify those nutrients that have the greatest impact on the overall metabolomic profile of organic ketchups as compared to conventional ones.

Changes in phenolic content of tomato products during storage.

The effect of storage on the total polyphenol content and individual phenolic compounds as well as on the hydrophilic antioxidant capacity of ketchups and tomato juices was studied. The total polyphenol content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay, and the antioxidant capacity of the hydrophilic fraction was determined using DPPH and ABTS(+) assays. Individual polyphenols were identified and quantified using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry on a triple quadrupole.

Bioanalysis young investigator: Alexander Medina-Remón.

Supervisor's supporting comments Alex Medina joined my research group, Natural Antioxidants, in January 2006 to start his PhD program. He has been working intensively and efficiently on several projects; initially for his thesis he developed a new bioanalytical methodology to quantify phenols in urine (Medina-Remón A et al. 2009) to correlate with the hypertension prevention in the PREDIMED study ( www.

Changes in phenolic profile and antioxidant activity during production of diced tomatoes.

Tomatoes and tomato-based products are rich in antioxidants such as carotenoids, vitamin C and polyphenols. The industrial processing of diced tomatoes involves heat treatments in which these antioxidant compounds may be potentially affected. In this study, we evaluate the effect of each separate step in the dice-making process.

A fast method coupling ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection for flavonoid quantification in citrus fruit extracts.

Flavonoids are a widely distributed group of polyphenolic compounds present in an extensive range of edible plants, notably Citrus species. This article reports a rapid, optimized, and validated method for the separation and quantification of flavonoids in three Citrus fruit extracts by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) using a photodiode array detector. This new procedure allowed the simultaneous separation and quantification of 11 selected flavonoids in 5.

Phenolic profile and hydrophilic antioxidant capacity as chemotaxonomic markers of tomato varieties.

Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.), the second most important vegetable crop worldwide, are a key component in the so-called "Mediterranean diet", which is strongly associated with a reduced risk of chronic degenerative diseases. In this work, we evaluate the differences in the total and individual polyphenol content and hydrophilic antioxidant capacity of seven varieties of tomato cultivated in Vegas Bajas del Guadiana, Badajoz (Spain), which were collected from two consecutive harvests (2008-2009).

Improved characterization of tomato polyphenols using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization linear ion trap quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is the second most important fruit crop worldwide. Tomatoes are a key component in the Mediterranean diet, which is strongly associated with a reduced risk of chronic degenerative diseases.

Profile of plasma and urine metabolites after the intake of almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] polyphenols in humans.

Nut skins are considered to be a rich source of polyphenols and may be partially responsible for the numerous health effects associated with nut consumption. However, more bioavailability studies of nut skin polyphenols are needed to understand the health effects derived from nut consumption. The aim of the present study was to determine the profiles of both phase II and microbial-derived phenolic metabolites in plasma and urine samples before and after the intake of almond skin polyphenols by healthy human subjects (n = 2).