Flavanone-rich citrus beverages counteract the transient decline in postprandial endothelial function in humans: a randomised, controlled, double-masked, cross-over intervention study

Catarina Rendeiro, Honglin Dong, Caroline Saunders, Laura Harkness, Melvin Blaze, Yanpeng Hou, Ronald Belanger, Giulia Corona, Julie Lovegrove, Jeremy Spencer

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    Abstract

    Specific flavonoid-rich foods/beverages are reported to exert positive effects on vascular function; however, data relating to effects in the postprandial state are limited. The present study investigated the postprandial, time-dependent (0–7 h) impact of citrus flavanone intake on vascular function. An acute, randomised, controlled, double-masked, cross-over intervention study was conducted by including middle-aged healthy men (30–65 years, n 28) to assess the impact of flavanone intake (orange juice: 128·9 mg; flavanone-rich orange juice: 272·1 mg; homogenised whole orange: 452·8 mg; isoenergetic control: 0 mg flavanones) on postprandial (double meal delivering a total of 81 g of fat) endothelial function. Endothelial function was assessed by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery at 0, 2, 5 and 7 h. Plasma levels of naringenin/hesperetin metabolites (sulphates and glucuronides) and nitric oxide species were also measured. All flavanone interventions were effective at attenuating transient impairments in FMD induced by the double meal (7 h post intake; P <0·05), but no dose– response effects were observed. The effects on FMD coincided with the peak of naringenin/hesperetin metabolites in circulation (7 h) and sustained levels of plasma nitrite. In summary, citrus flavanones are effective at counteracting the negative impact of a sequential double meal on human vascular function, potentially through the actions of flavanone metabolites on nitric oxide.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1999-2010
    Number of pages12
    JournalBritish Journal of Nutrition
    Volume116
    Issue number12
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 28 Dec 2016

    Keywords

    • Citrus flavanones
    • Endothelial function
    • High-fat meals
    • Nitric oxide
    • Postprandial state

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