One-Week Elderberry Juice Treatment Increases Carbohydrate Oxidation after a Meal Tolerance Test and Is Well Tolerated in Adults: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

Obesity in the United States continues to worsen. Anthocyanin-rich fruits and vegetables provide a pragmatic dietary approach to slow its metabolic complications. Given American diet patterns, foods with high anthocyanin content could address dose-response challenges. The study objective was to determine the effect of 100% elderberry juice on measures of indirect calorimetry (IC) and insulin sensitivity/glucose tolerance in a placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover pilot study. Overweight and obese adults were randomized to a 5-week study which included 2 1-week periods of twice-daily elderberry juice (EBJ) or sugar-matched placebo consumption separated by a 3-week washout period. Following each 1-week test period, IC and insulin sensitivity/glucose tolerance was measured with a 3 h meal tolerance test (MTT). Treatment differences were tested with linear mixed modeling. A total of 22 prospective study volunteers (18 F/4 M) attended recruitment meetings, and 9 were analyzed for treatment differences. EBJ was well tolerated and compliance was 99.6%. A total of 6 IC measures (intervals) were created, which coincided with 10-20 min gaseous samplings in-between MTT blood samplings. Average CHO oxidation was significantly higher during the MTT after 1-week EBJ consumption (3.38 vs. 2.88 g per interval, EBJ vs. placebo, p = 0.0113). Conversely, average fat oxidation was significantly higher during the MTT after 1-week placebo consumption (1.17 vs. 1.47 g per interval, EBJ vs. placebo, p = 0.0189). This was in-line with a significantly lower average respiratory quotient after placebo treatment (0.87 vs. 0.84, EBJ vs. placebo, p = 0.0114). Energy expenditure was not different. There was no difference in serum glucose or insulin response between treatments. This pilot study of free-living volunteers describes significant change in IC but not insulin sensitivity with an EBJ intervention. Controlled feeding and increased sample size will help determine the utility of EBJ on these outcomes.

A Single Meal Containing Raw, Crushed Garlic Influences Expression of Immunity- and Cancer-Related Genes in Whole Blood of Humans.

BACKGROUND: Preclinical and epidemiologic studies suggest that garlic intake is inversely associated with the progression of cancer and cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: We designed a study to probe the mechanisms of garlic action in humans. METHODS: We conducted a randomized crossover feeding trial in which 17 volunteers consumed a garlic-containing meal (100 g white bread, 15 g butter, and 5 g raw, crushed garlic) or a garlic-free control meal (100 g white bread and 15 g butter) after 10 d of consuming a controlled, garlic-free diet. Blood was collected before and 3 h after test meal consumption for gene expression analysis in whole blood. Illumina BeadArray was used to screen for genes of interest, followed by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) on selected genes. To augment human study findings, Mono Mac 6 cells were treated with a purified garlic extract (0.5 µL/mL), and mRNA was measured by qRT-PCR at 0, 3, 6, and 24 h. RESULTS: The following 7 genes were found to be upregulated by garlic intake: aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1A), proto-oncogene c-Jun (JUN), nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) activating protein with immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif 1 (NFAM1), oncostatin M (OSM), and V-rel avian reticuloendotheliosis viral oncogene homolog (REL). Fold-increases in mRNA transcripts ranged from 1.6 (HIF1A) to 3.0 (NFAM1) (P < 0.05). The mRNA levels of 5 of the 7 genes that were upregulated in the human trial were also upregulated in cell culture at 3 and 6 h: AHR, HIF1A, JUN, OSM, and REL. Fold-increases in mRNA transcripts in cell culture ranged from 1.7 (HIF1A) to 12.1 (JUN) (P < 0.01). OSM protein was measured by ELISA and was significantly higher than the control at 3, 6, and 24 h (24 h: 19.5 ± 1.4 and 74.8 ± 1.4 pg/mL for control and garlic, respectively). OSM is a pleiotropic cytokine that inhibits several tumor cell lines in culture. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that the bioactivity of garlic is multifaceted and includes activation of genes related to immunity, apoptosis, and xenobiotic metabolism in humans and Mono Mac 6 cells. This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01293591.