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Effect of a wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) drink intervention on markers of oxidative stress, inflammation and endothelial function in humans with cardiovascular risk factors

European Journal of Nutrition volume 52, pages 949–961 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

Wild blueberries (WB) (Vaccinium angustifolium) are rich sources of polyphenols, such as flavonols, phenolic acids and anthocyanins (ACNs), reported to decrease the risk of cardiovascular and degenerative diseases. This study investigated the effect of regular consumption of a WB or a placebo (PL) drink on markers of oxidative stress, inflammation and endothelial function in subjects with risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Methods

Eighteen male volunteers (ages 47.8 ± 9.7 years; body mass index 24.8 ± 2.6 kg/m2) received according to a cross-over design, a WB (25 g freeze-dried powder, providing 375 mg of ACNs) or a PL drink for 6 weeks, spaced by a 6-week wash-out. Endogenous and oxidatively induced DNA damage in blood mononuclear cells, serum interleukin levels, reactive hyperemia index, nitric oxide, soluble vascular adhesion molecule concentration and other variables were analyzed.

Results

Wild blueberry drink intake significantly reduced the levels of endogenously oxidized DNA bases (from 12.5 ± 5.6 % to 9.6 ± 3.5 %, p ≤ 0.01) and the levels of H2O2-induced DNA damage (from 45.8 ± 7.9 % to 37.2 ± 9.1 %, p ≤ 0.01), while no effect was found after the PL drink. No significant differences were detected for markers of endothelial function and the other variables under study.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the consumption of the WB drink for 6 weeks significantly reduced the levels of oxidized DNA bases and increased the resistance to oxidatively induced DNA damage. Future studies should address in greater detail the role of WB in endothelial function. This study was registered at www.isrctn.org as ISRCTN47732406.

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Fig. 1

Abbreviations

AACC:

American Association for Clinical Chemistry

ACNs:

Anthocyanins

AI:

Augmentation index

AI@75:

Augmentation index standardized for heart rate of 75 bpm

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

AOAC:

Association of Official Analytical Chemists

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

AST:

Aspartate aminotransferase

BMI:

Body mass index

CI:

Confidence interval

CRP:

C-reactive protein

CVD:

Cardiovascular disease

FMD:

Flow-mediated dilation

FPG:

Formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase

FRHI:

Framingham reactive hyperemia index

GGT:

Gamma-glutamyltransferase

GSH:

Reduced glutathione

GSH-Px:

Glutathione peroxidase

GSSG:

Oxidized glutathione

GST:

Glutathione S-transferase

HDL-C:

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

IL-6:

Interleukin-6

LC-DAD-MS/MS:

Liquid chromatography/diode array detector/mass spectrometry

LDL-C:

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

LSD:

Least significant difference

BMCs:

Blood mononuclear cells

NO:

Nitric oxide

PAT:

Peripheral arterial tone

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

PL:

Placebo

RH:

Reactive hyperemia

RHI:

Reactive hyperemia index

SD:

Standard deviation

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

SPE:

Solid-phase extraction

sVCAM-1:

Soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor alpha

TFA:

Trifluoroacetic acid

TG:

Triglycerides

TSC:

Total serum cholesterol

UHPLC-MS/MS:

Ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

WB:

Wild blueberry

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a research grant (2007-5810) from the Cariplo Foundation (Milan, Italy) and by a contribution of the freeze-dried wild blueberry powder from the Wild Blueberry Association of North America (WBANA) and Future Ceuticals (Momence, IL, USA). We are grateful to F. Hoffmann-LaRoche for the gift of the photosensitizer. The funders and donors had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. We are grateful to the medical staff of AVIS (Associazione Italiani Volontari Sangue, via Edoardo Bassini 26, 20133 Milan, Italy), in particular Drs. Galastri and Verducci for their commendable support. We thank Dr. Marina Parolini (Istituto di Fisiologia Clinica CNR, Dipartimento Cardiovascolare, Ospedale Niguarda Ca’ Granda, Milan, Italy) for supervision of the statistical analysis. Moreover, we are grateful to all the volunteers who participated in the study for their time and effort.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DeFENS, Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 2, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Patrizia Riso, Cristian Del Bo’, Daniela Martini & Marisa Porrini

  2. Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

    Dorothy Klimis-Zacas & Stefano Vendrame

  3. Dipartimento Cardiovascolare, Istituto di Fisiologia Clinica CNR, Ospedale Niguarda Ca’ Granda, Milan, Italy

    Jonica Campolo & Renata De Maria

  4. Department of Public Health, Section of Environmental Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Peter Møller & Steffen Loft

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  1. Patrizia Riso
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  2. Dorothy Klimis-Zacas
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  3. Cristian Del Bo’
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Correspondence to Patrizia Riso.

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Riso, P., Klimis-Zacas, D., Del Bo’, C. et al. Effect of a wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) drink intervention on markers of oxidative stress, inflammation and endothelial function in humans with cardiovascular risk factors. Eur J Nutr 52, 949–961 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-012-0402-9

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Keywords

  • Wild blueberry
  • Endothelial function
  • DNA damage
  • Blood lipids
  • Cardiovascular risk