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Mar
2005
Clin Dev Immunol 2005, 12 (1), 35-41.
Evidence suggesting that dietary polyphenols, flavanols, and proanthocyanidins in particular offer significant cardiovascular health benefits is rapidly increasing. Accordingly, reliable and accurate methods are needed to provide qualitative and quantitative food composition data necessary for high quality epidemiological and clinical research. Measurements for flavonoids and proanthocyanidinshave employed a range of analytical techniques, with...Mar
2005
Clin Dev Immunol 2005, 12 (1), 1-9.
Platelet activity and platelet-endothelial cell interactions are important in the acute development of thrombosis, as well as in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. An increasing number of foods have been reported to have platelet-inhibitory actions, and research with a number of flavanol-rich foods, including, grape juice, cocoa and chocolate, suggests that these foods may provide some protection against thrombosis. In the present...Mar
2005
Clin Dev Immunol 2005, 12 (1), 11-7.
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 regularconsumption (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...Mar
2005
Clin Dev Immunol 2005, 12 (1), 19-25.
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 cellmembranes. 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...Jan
2005
Am J Clin Nutr 2005, 81 (1 Suppl), 304S-312S.
Cocoa products are sources of flavan-3-ols, which have attracted interest regarding cardiovascular health. This review provides a survey of our research on the effects of cocoa polyphenols on leukotriene and nitric oxide (NO) metabolism and on myeloperoxidase-induced modification of LDL. Because intake of flavonoid-rich chocolate by human subjects was reported to decrease the plasma concentrations of proinflammatory cysteinyl leukotrienes, we...Jan
2005
Am J Clin Nutr 2005, 81 (1 Suppl), 298S-303S.
An increasing body of epidemiologic evidence supports the concept that diets rich in fruits and vegetables can promote health and attenuate, or delay, the onset of various diseases. Epidemiologic data support the idea that these health benefits are causally linked to the consumption of certain flavonoids present in fruit and vegetables. In the context of cardiovascular health, a particular group of flavonoids, namely, the flavan-3-ols (flavanols...Sep
2004
Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2004, 229 (8), 765-71.
Procyanidins extracted from cocoa play a role in the defense against oxidative stress, as well as in vascular and immune functions. We previously reported that pentameric procyanidins isolated fromcocoa inhibit the expression of the tyrosine kinase ErbB2 gene, thus slowing the growth of culturedhuman aortic endothelial cells. We herein investigate the further consequences of such inhibition bycocoa procyanidins, particularly regarding the...Sep
2004
Br J Cardiol 2004, 11 (5), 379-386.
There has been a long-standing interest in the relation between what we eat and cardiovascular risk. Over the years, attention has been given to calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, folic acid, antioxidants and, most recently, flavanols. Flavanol concentrations can be moderately high in a number of foods that have been associated with a reduction in cardiovascular risk including...Aug
2004
Free Radic Biol Med 2004, 37 (3), 411-21.
Flavan-3-ols are potent antioxidants in vitro, but convincing evidence for antioxidant action in vivo is lacking. We examined whether an oxidative stress-mediated increase in plasma F(2)-isoprostanes is counteracted by a flavanol-rich cocoa beverage. Twenty volunteers were examined in a comparative randomized double-blind crossover design with respect to ingestion of high-flavanol cocoa drink(HFCD; 187 mg flavan-3-ols/100 ml) vs. low-flavanol...Mar
2004
J Nutr 2004, 134 (3), 613-7.
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...Mar
2004
Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2004, 229 (3), 255-63.
Flavonoids isolated from cocoa have biological activities relevant to oxidant defenses, vascular health, tumor suppression, and immune function. The intake of certain dietary flavonoids, along with other dietary substances such as tocopherols, ascorbate, and carotenoids, is epidemiologically associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Flavonoids have also been shown to modulate tumor pathology in vitro and in animal models. We took...Jan
2004
Faseb J 2004, 18 (1), 167-9.
The capacity of the flavan-3-ols [(-)-epicatechin (EC) and (+)-catechin (CT)] and a B dimericprocyanidin (DP-B) to modulate phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced NF-kappaB activationin 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...Jan
2004
Biol Res 2004, 37 (2), 293-300.
We investigated the effects of the interaction between flavanols and related procyanidins (dimer to hexamer) with both cell and synthetic membranes, on bilayer fluidity and susceptibility to oxidation.Cocoa derived dimers (0.05 to 1 microg/ml) protected Jurkat T cells from AMVN-mediated oxidation and increased plasma membrane fluidity. These effects occurred in a concentration- and chain length-dependent manner. In liposomes, procyanidins...Dec
2003
J Hypertens 2003, 21 (12), 2281-6.
BACKGROUND: Consumption of flavonoid-rich beverages, including tea and red wine, has been associated with a reduction in coronary events, but the physiological mechanism remains obscure. Cocoa can contain extraordinary concentrations of flavanols, a flavonoid subclass shown to activate nitric oxide synthase in vitro. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that flavanol-rich cocoa induces nitric-oxide-dependent vasodilation inhumans. DESIGN:...Dec
2003
FEBS Lett 2003, 555 (3), 597-600.
It was determined that flavan-3-ols and procyanidins have an inhibitory effect on angiotensin Iconverting enzyme (ACE) activity, and the effect was dependent on the number of epicatechin units forming the procyanidin. The inhibition by flavan-3-ols and procyanidins was competitive with the two substrates assayed: N-hippuryl-L-histidyl-L-leucine (HHL) and N-[3-(2-furyl)acryloyl]-L-phenylalanylglycylglycine (FAPGG). Tetramer and hexamer fractions...Dec
2003
Nature 2003, 426 (6968), 787-8; discussion 788.
Flavanol compounds in wine, cocoa products and tea can exert a cardioprotective effect, for example by influencing endothelial-cell function1, antithrombic mechanisms2 and blood pressure3, 4. Serafini et al. 5 claim that consuming dark chocolate, but not milk chocolate or dark chocolate together with milk, increases the antioxidant capacity of human plasma, and suggest that interaction between milk proteins and chocolate flavonoids inhibits the...Dec
2003
J Agric Food Chem 2003, 51 (25), 7513-21.
A normal-phase HPLC-MS/MS method was applied to screen for proanthocyanidins in 88 different kinds of foods. Thirty-nine foods were found to contain proanthocyanidins. These foods include 19 kinds of fruits, eight cereals/beans, seven nuts, two beverages, two spices, and one vegetable. Twenty-five kinds of foods were found to contain both oligomeric (DP 10), and the other 14 foods contained only oligomers. Procyanidins with B-type linkages were...Dec
2003
J Mass Spectrom 2003, 38 (12), 1272-80.
The proanthocyanidins in three foods (pinto beans, plums and cinnamon) were studied with electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS) in the negative mode following separation by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The MS/MS analysis demonstrated that the major ions derived from heterocyclic ring fission and retro-Diels-Alder reaction of flavan-3-ol provided information about the hydroxylation pattern and type of...Jul
2003
Life Sci 2003, 73 (7), 857-69.
Macronutrients in food and gastric acid are known to have a pronounced effect on the metabolism of many xenobiotics, an effect that impacts their efficacy as bioactive agents. In this investigation we assessed the impact of select food treatments and the histamine H(2)-receptor antagonist Famotidine (Pepcid-AC) on flavanol absorption and metabolism. Four crossover intervention studies were conducted with 6 subjects each. Volunteers consumed...Pages
Cardiovascular Publications
Jun
2000
J Med Food 2000, 3 (2), 107-114.
Given the widespread ingestion of cocoa in many cultures, we investigated whether cocoa, in its isolated procyanidin fractions (monomer through decamer), would modulate synthesis of the antiinflammatory cytokine, interleukin-4 (IL-4). Both resting and phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were investigated at the protein secretion level. The smaller-sized cocoa fractions (tetramer or less) were unable to...Mar
2000
Life Sci 2000, 66 (15), 1377-86.
Recent data has demonstrated that cacao liquor polyphenols (procyanidins) have antioxidant activity, inhibit mRNA expression of interleukin-2 and are potent inhibitors of acute inflammation. Given the widespread ingestion of cocoa in many cultures, we investigated whether cocoa, in its isolated procyanidin fractions (monomer through decamer), would modulate synthesis of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1 beta. Both resting and...Jan
1999
Int J Immunotherapy 1999, 15 (1), 23-29.
We have previously shown that cocoa polyphenols (procyanidins) inhibit induced nuclear transcription of human interleukin-1beta. In the present study, we extend the observed immunomodulatory activity to examine the effects of cocoa procyanidins on the interleukin-2 (IL-2) gene. The transcriptional regulation of IL-2 is critically involved in the control of T-cell proliferation and normal immune response. Both resting and phytohemagglutinin (PHA...Pages
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