Postprandial bioactivity of spread cheese, enhanced with mountain tea and orange peel extract, in healthy volunteers. A pilot study.

Postprandial lipemia, glycemia and oxidative stress may affect the outcome of cardiovascular disease. It has been investigated that the enhancement of spread cheese with mountain tea (Sideritis sp.) and orange peel extract, may reduce postprandial metabolic biomarkers in healthy volunteers. The purpose of the pilot study was the investigation of possible postprandial bioactivity of such a spread cheese. In the framework of a cross-over design, 9 healthy volunteers 20-30 years old, ate a meal, rich in fat and carbohydrates (2 slices of bread-80g, spread with 40g butter and 30g spread cheese). After a week washout period the same volunteers ate the same meal with the spread cheese, enhanced with 6% mountain tea and dried orange peel extract (3g tea + 3g peel, 100ml boiling water for 5min, Antioxidant capacity of extract: FRAP Method , 67μmol Fe2SO4 / ml, Total Phenolic Extract-Follin Method: 49.9μg gallic acid / ml). Blood sampling took place before, 1.5, 3 and 5 h after meal. Total plasma antioxidant capacity (FRAP), serum lipid levels (Total, HDL-, LDL- cholesterol and triglycerides), glucose, uric acid (biochemical analyzer Roche Cobas c111), and anticoagulant activity were measured for each instant. There was a statistically significant increase in the antioxidant capacity of plasma, 3h after the meal in the presence of cheese, enhanced with extracts, compared to the consumption of conventional cheese (p <0.05). There was a tendency to decrease the rise rate of glucose and triglycerides, 1.5h after eating the meal with extracts. The remaining biomarkers did not show statistically significant differences (p> 0.05). More studies in a larger sample are needed to draw safer conclusions about the effect of extracts on metabolic biomarkers, such as oxidative stress, lipemia and glycemia.

References

1. Koutelidakis, Α.Ε., Rallidis, L, Koniari, K., Panagiotakos, D., Komaitis, M., Zampelas, A., Anastasiou-Nana, M., Kapsokefalou, M. (2013) Effect of green tea on postprandial antioxidant capacity, serum lipids, C Reactive Protein and glucose levels in patients with coronary artery disease. European Journal of Nutrition, 53(2):479-486.
2. Georgakopoulou V., Dimou C., Karantonis C. In Vitro Antioxidant, Antithrombotic, Antiatherogenic and Antidiabetic Activities of Urtica dioica, Sideritis euboea and Cistus creticus Water Extracts and Investigation of Pasta Fortification with the Most Bioactive One. Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2019, 20(10): 874-880
3. Dimou, C., Karantonis, C., Skalkos, D., Koutelidakis* A.E. (2019) Valorization of fruits by-products to unconventional sources of additives, oil, biomolecules and innovative functional foods. Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 20(10):776-786.