Effect of coffee and cocoa-based confectionery containing coffee on markers of cardiometabolic health: results from the pocket-4-life project.

PURPOSE: Coffee is an important source of bioactive compounds, including caffeine, trigonelline, and phenolic compounds. Several studies have highlighted the preventive effects of coffee consumption on major cardiometabolic (CM) diseases, but the impact of different coffee dosages on markers of CM risk in a real-life setting has not been fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the effect of coffee and cocoa-based confectionery containing coffee consumption on several CM risk factors in healthy subjects. METHODS: In a three-arm, crossover, randomized trial, 21 volunteers were assigned to consume in a random order for 1 month: 1 cup of espresso coffee/day, 3 cups of espresso coffee/day, and 1 cup of espresso coffee plus 2 cocoa-based products containing coffee, twice per day. At the last day of each treatment, blood samples were collected and used for the analysis of inflammatory markers, trimethylamine N-oxide, nitric oxide, blood lipids, and markers of glucose/insulin metabolism. Moreover, anthropometric parameters and blood pressure were measured. Finally, food consumption during the interventions was monitored. RESULTS: After 1 month, energy intake did not change among treatments, while significant differences were observed in the intake of saturated fatty acids, sugars, and total carbohydrates. No significant effect on CM markers was observed following neither the consumption of different coffee dosages nor after cocoa-based products containing coffee. CONCLUSIONS: The daily consumption of common dosages of coffee and its substitution with cocoa-based products containing coffee showed no effect on CM risk factors in healthy subjects. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03166540, May 21, 2017.

Easy and non-invasive disease detection in pigs by adenosine deaminase activity determinations in saliva.

The quantification of adenosine deaminase (ADA) in porcine saliva samples has been analyzed for its use as a marker of disease. First, an analytical validation of the enzymatic assay used for ADA measurements was performed. Afterwards, saliva samples were collected from 50 healthy animals and 64 animals with different symptoms of disease, which were divided into local inflammation, gastrointestinal disorder, respiratory disorder and growth retardation. To optimize ADA measurements, total ADA (tADA), specific ADA (sADA) and ADA isoforms 1 and 2 activities were calculated. Moreover, to preliminarily estimate the diagnostic value of tADA activity measurements for disease detection, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses was performed and compared to the results obtained for salivary acute phase proteins, haptoglobin (Hp) and C-reactive protein (CRP). The salivary levels of tADA activity were significantly elevated in animals with local inflammation, gastrointestinal disorder and respiratory disorder. The calculation of the different ADA activities did not provide additional information to tADA activity quantification for disease detection. The diagnostic value of tADA activity was superior to those observed for Hp and CRP measurements in the present study. It might be concluded that ADA analysis in saliva could be used as a simple, rapid, economic and non-invasive diagnostic tool in porcine production in field conditions.

Statins and postoperative risk of atrial fibrillation following coronary artery bypass grafting.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication after coronary artery bypass grafting. Atrial remodeling has been observed in AF and has been associated with the development of this arrhythmia. Because 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A inhibitors (statins) have been demonstrated to modify remodeling, we hypothesized a protective role of statins against postoperative AF. We also hypothesized that extracellular matrix turnover and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) might be related to such atrial remodeling. We studied 234 consecutive patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (173 men; 65 +/- 9 years of age) in whom the occurrence of postoperative AF was monitored. In a subgroup of 66 patients, we measured plasma levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), its inhibitor, tissue inhibitor matrix metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1; as indexes of extracellular matrix remodeling), and N-terminus pro-BNP (related to left ventricular function) at baseline and at 24 hours after surgery. Of 234 patients, 66 (28.2%) developed postoperative AF. In multivariate analysis, previous AF was related to an increase in the development of AF (odds ratio 11.92, 95% confidence interval 2.37 to 59.98, p = 0.026), whereas statin use was related to a decrease in arrhythmia (odds ratio 0.52, 95% confidence interval 0.28 to 0.96, p = 0.038). A higher TIMP-1/MMP-1 ratio at 24 hours after surgery was present in those who did not develop postoperative AF (p = 0.043). Statin use was associated with increased TIMP-1 levels and TIMP-1/MMP-1 ratio (p = 0.027 and 0.036, respectively). No significant relations to N-terminus pro-BNP were seen. In conclusion, previous AF and nonuse of statins are significantly associated with AF after coronary artery bypass grafting. Statin use may be protective against AF after coronary artery bypass grafting, possibly due to alterations in the extracellular matrix and remodeling after coronary artery bypass grafting.