The pharmacodynamic profile of "Blackadder" blackcurrant juice effects upon the monoamine axis in humans: A randomised controlled trial.

Emerging evidence from human intervention trials indicates health benefits of consuming blackcurrant fruit, including improvements to cognitive performance, modulation of blood flow, regulation of blood glucose and inhibition of enzymes underpinning normal cognitive function. Of particular relevance is our previous demonstration of monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A and B inhibition after the consumption of a New Zealand "Blackadder" blackcurrant juice in humans. The current study uses a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised cross- over design to assess the pharmacodynamics of the effects on platelet MAO-B inhibition and associated substrates, plasma prolactin levels and blood glucose levels after consumption of a single serve of "Blackadder" blackcurrant juice standardised to 500 mg polyphenols. Eight healthy male (20--35 years) participants completed the trial. Measurements were obtained at baseline 15, 30, 45, 60, 100, 120, 150, 180, 240 mins and 24 h post dose. A fast, absolute and reversible inhibition of blood platelet MAO-B (P < 0.001) and a significant but delayed reduction in plasma prolactin (P < 0.001) were observed following the consumption of "Blackadder" blackcurrant juice when compared to a placebo control. No interpretable changes in substrates of MAO or associated metabolites were seen. These data provide a clear time course of the reversible inhibition of MAO-B after the single consumption of a of New Zealand "Blackadder" blackcurrant juice standardised at 500 mg of polyphenols and, therefore, provide a therapeutic window on which to base future nutritional interventions.

Timed consumption of a New Zealand blackcurrant juice support positive affective responses during a self-motivated moderate walking exercise in healthy sedentary adults.

BACKGROUND: Affective responses experienced during exercise are a significant determinant on exercise adherence. We have previously demonstrated that consumption of New Zealand (NZ) blackcurrants preserves cognition by attenuating the feeling of fatigue. This positive affective response correlated with the ability of blackcurrant polyphenols to support monoamine neurotransmission via inhibition of monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) activity. Here we explore how the consumption of a NZ blackcurrant juice (BJ) influenced affective responses and potential ergogenic action on the motivation to adhere to a low impact walking exercise. METHODS: In a parallel randomized controlled study (Trial registration #: ACTRN12617000319370p, registered 28th February 2017, http://www.anzctr.org.au/ ), 40 healthy sedentary male and female participants drank a BJ or matched placebo (PLA) (n = 20 per group), 1 h prior to a self-motivated treadmill walk, where heart rate and affective responses (exertion [ES] or feeling / mood [FS]) scores) were recorded at 3 or 5 min intervals. Blood glucose, lactate, malondialdehyde (MDA) and platelet MAO-B activity were measured pre- and post-exercise and comparisons were conducted using with Student's t-tests. Subjective data were analysed using 2-way ANOVA with appropriate post hoc tests. RESULTS: Consuming a BJ 1 h prior to exercise caused a 90% decline in platelet MAO-B activity. The exercise had no significant (p > 0.05) effect on blood lactate, glucose or plasma MDA levels. Assessment of affective responses over the first 60 mins (adjusting for participant drop-out) revealed a time-dependent ES increase in both groups, with ES reported by participants in the BJ group consistently lower than those in the PLA group (p < 0.05). FS declined in PLA and BJ groups over 60 mins, but an inverse relationship with ES was only observed within the PLA group (r2 = 0.99, p = 0.001). Whilst the average time walked by participants in the BJ group was 11 mins longer than the PLA group (p = 0.3), and 30% of the BJ group achieving > 10 km compared to only 10% for the PLA group (p = 0.28), statistical significance was not achieved. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that drinking a polyphenolic-rich NZ blackcurrant juice 1 h prior to exercise supports positive affective responses during a self-motivated exercise.

Fecal microbial metabolism of polyphenols and its effects on human gut microbiota.

We investigated the biotransformation of four common dietary polyphenols, rutin, quercetin, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid, in an in vitro mixed culture model of human intestinal microbiota, to determine effects on human gut bacteria. All four compounds were biotransformed rapidly, disappearing from the medium within 0.5 h and later replaced by known phenolic acid breakdown products, at concentrations up to hundreds of micromolar, much higher than in no-polyphenol control experiments. Quantitative PCR was used to measure effects of the polyphenols on the balance between the major groups of intestinal bacteria that are known to influence gut health, i.e., Bifidobacterium spp., Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. Fermentation of polyphenols stimulated proliferation of bifidobacteria and decreased the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, relative to controls. Polyphenols also stimulated short chain fatty acid production by the bacteria. Pure bifidobacterial cultures were treated separately with either fermented media isolated from the incubations, the pure test polyphenols, or the biotransformation products detected in the fermentations. Growth stimulation was observed only with fermented polyphenol media and the pure biotransformation products. It appears that dietary polyphenols may have the ability to modify the gut microbial balance, but this effect is indirect, i.e., it is mediated by biotransformation products, rather than the original plant compounds.