Effects of plant oils with different fatty acid composition on cardiovascular risk factors in moderately hypercholesteremic Chinese adults: a randomized, double-blinded, parallel-designed trial.

OBJECTIVES: Plant oil for cooking typically provides 40% to 50% of dietary fat, 65% of linoleic acid, 44% of α-linolenic acid and 41% of oleic acid in the Chinese diet. However, the comparative effects of fatty acids derived from plant oil on cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese are still inconclusive. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate whether cardiovascular risk factors are altered depending on various types of plant oils such as peanut oil rich in oleic acid, corn oil rich in linoleic acid, and blend oil fortified by α-linolenic acid. DESIGN: A randomized, double-blinded, parallel-designed trial. SETTING: The First and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 251 volunteers with fasting blood total cholesterol between 5.13 and 8.00 mmol L-1 were enrolled. INTERVENTION: Volunteers received peanut oil, corn oil or blend oil to use for cooking for one year. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The erythrocyte membrane fatty acid composition, fasting plasma lipids, glucose and insulin concentrations and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels were measured before, during and after the intervention. The level of α-linolenic acid in erythrocyte membranes was significantly increased in the blend oil group after the intervention (P < 0.001). The level of other fatty acids did not show any statistically significant differences between the three groups. No significant differences were observed in the concentrations of fasting plasma lipids, hsCRP, glucose, and insulin among the three groups using different types of plant oils. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that although ingesting cooking oil with different fatty acid composition for one year could change erythrocyte membrane fatty acid compositions, it did not significantly modify cardiovascular risk factors in moderately hypercholesteremic people.

Daidzein and genistein fail to improve glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in Chinese women with impaired glucose regulation: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

SCOPE: This randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial evaluated the effect of isolated daidzein and genistein on glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in 165 Chinese women aged 30-70 with impaired glucose regulation (IGR). METHODS AND RESULTS: Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups with a daily dose of 10 g of soy protein plus (i) no addition, (ii) 50 mg of daidzein, or (iii) 50 mg of genistein for 24 wk. Fasting glucose (FG), insulin, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c ), and glucose concentrations at 30, 60, 120, and 180 min and insulin concentrations at 30, 60, and 120 min after an oral 75-g glucose tolerance test were assessed at baseline and at 12 and 24 wk postintervention. a total of 158 and 151 subjects completed the measures at wk 12 and 24, respectively. There were no significant differences in the changes (%) of FG and the 2-h glucose, HbA1c , fasting, and 2-h insulin or the area under the curve of glucose and insulin between the three treatment groups at wk 12 or 24 (all p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Neither isolated daidzein nor genistein has a significant effect on glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in Chinese women with IGR over a 6-month supplementation period.

Soy germ isoflavones improve menopausal symptoms but have no effect on blood lipids in early postmenopausal Chinese women: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Estrogen therapy is, to date, the most effective treatment of menopausal syndrome and also has a favorable effect on lipid profiles. Because of its potential adverse effects, however, a more acceptable alternative therapy needs to be identified. This study examines the effect of soy germ isoflavones on menopausal symptoms and serum lipids. METHODS: Ninety early postmenopausal Chinese women, aged 45 to 60 years, were randomly assigned to three treatment groups (30 each) receiving daily doses of 0 (placebo), 84, and 126 mg of soy germ isoflavones. Hot flush frequency, Kupperman scores, serum 17ß-estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and serum lipids, including triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I, and apolipoprotein B100, were assessed at baseline and at 12 and 24 weeks after treatment. RESULTS: Both the frequency of hot flushes and the Kupperman index score decreased in all three treatment groups during the intervention period, but the percentage decreases in both were significantly greater in the two isoflavone groups (44.3 ± 19.1 and 57.8 ± 37.4 [84 mg isoflavones]; 48.5 ± 27.2 and 56.7 ± 26.7 [126 mg isoflavones]) than in the placebo group (27.8 ± 15.5 and 34.6 ± 46.2; p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the changes in estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone among the three treatment groups during the study, and no significant differences were observed in the lipid components. CONCLUSIONS: A daily supplement of 84 or 126 mg soy germ isoflavones may improve menopausal symptoms, although neither dose was found to affect lipid profiles in early postmenopausal Chinese women after 24 weeks of treatment. The favorable effects are unlikely to be associated with female hormones.

[Study on the seasonal variations of the active components in Acer truncatum leaves and the inhibitory ability on fatty acid synthase].

OBJECTIVE: To study the dynamic variations of the contents of total polyphenols, flvonoids and chlorogenic acid from Acer truncatum leaves in different months, and their inhibitory activities on fatty acid synthase. METHODS: Spectrophotometry was used to determine the contents of total polyphenols, flavonoids and chlorogenic acid in extracts and the extracts' inhibitory effects were also investigated. RESULTS: All Leaves picked from May to November have inhibitory effect. But the contents of polyphenols in leaves of July appeared to be higher than other months', and consequently exhibited stronger inhibition against FAS. CONCLUSION: A positive correlation between the content of polyphenols in leaves extract and the inhibitory efficacy on FAS could be established.

[Study on extraction of polyphenols from the leaves of Acer truncatum and their inhibitory abilities on fatty acid synthase].

OBJECTIVE: To optimize a technical process for extracting the polyphenols that can inhibit fatty acid synthase by ethanol from the leaves of Acer truncatum. METHODS: The extracting time, extracting temperature, extracting solvent and the ratio of solvent to raw material were studied by L16 (4(5)) orthogonal experiments. The extraction rate of polyphenols and the inhibitory efficiency on the fatty acid synthase were utilized as evaluating criteria, and the optimum conditions for the extraction were obtained through summing up the above factors. RESULTS: The efficient technological conditions were as follows: the concentration of ethanol was 60% (v/v), the ratio of solvent to raw material was 1 g: 30 mL; and the stirring time was 1.5 h at 50 degrees C. CONCLUSION: The polyphenols that extracted from the leaves of Acer truncatum have inhibitory activity against fatty acid synthase and some of them have stronger inhibitory effect.

The antibacterial efficacy of an aceraceous plant [Shantung maple (Acer truncatum Bunge)] may be related to inhibition of bacterial beta-oxoacyl-acyl carrier protein reductase (FabG).

Polyphenols, including flavonoids, are the major components of the extracts from aceraceous plants. They possess remarkable antibacterial and antitumour activity. Our study focused on whether the inhibition of the bacterial type II fatty acid synthesis system is the mechanism for the antibacterial effect of the related plant polyphenols. Extracts obtained from the fallen leaves of the Shantung maple (Acer truncatum Bunge) using different solvents, and the related pure compound PGG (1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose), potently inhibited the FabG (beta-oxoacyl-ACP reductase) steps in the fatty-acid-elongation cycle with the IC(50) values between 0.9 and 7.2 microg/ml. An ethyl acetate extract appeared to inhibit FabG reductase in a mixed manner with NADPH, as did PGG with NADPH, demonstrating that they interfered with the binding of the cofactor to the enzyme. Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and some fungi were used to evaluate the antibacterial abilities of different extract samples. The experiments showed that a higher polyphenol content of the extracts led to a more potent inhibitory capacity against FabG, thus enhancing the antibacterial efficacy.

Soy isoflavones attenuate bone loss in early postmenopausal Chinese women : a single-blind randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies show that daily doses of 40-99 mg soy isoflavones produce inconsistent effects on preventing estrogen-related bone loss in postmenopausal women. AIM OF THE STUDY: To examined the bone-sparing effect of isoflavones at a higher dose in early Chinese postmenopausal women. METHODS: A total of 90 eligible women aged 45-60 years were randomly assigned to three treatment groups (30 subjects/group) with daily dosages of 0 (placebo), 84 and 126 mg isoflavones for 6 months. Further inclusion criteria included body mass index <30 kg/m(2) and Kuppermann Climacteric Scale >15. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the spine and hip were measured using dual- energy X-ray absorptiometry at 0 and 6 months. Serum osteocalcin, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and urinary deoxypyridinoline were examined at 0, 3 and 6 months. RESULTS: Mean percent changes in BMD at the lumbar spine (p = 0.114) and femoral neck (p = 0.053) increased with the supplementations of soy isoflavones after adjusting for age, years since menopause, body weight and height, dietary intakes of isoflavones, calcium and protein, physical activities and baseline BMD at the relevant sites. We observed significantly dose-dependent linear relationship between the supplemental isoflavones and percent changes of BMD at the spine (p = 0.042) and femoral neck (p = 0.016) post-treatment, and urinary total deoxypyridinoline (p = 0.014) at 12 weeks but not at 24 weeks after adjusting for the above factors. No significant difference in percent changes in serum osteocalcin (p > 0.05) and BAP (p > 0.05) was found among the three treatment groups at 12-week and 24-week post-treatment. CONCLUSION: There is a significantly dose-dependent effect of soy isoflavones on attenuating bone loss at the spine and femoral neck possibly via the inhibition of bone resorption in non-obese postmenopausal Chinese women with high Kuppermann Scale.