Moderate consumption of a soluble green/roasted coffee rich in caffeoylquinic acids reduces cardiovascular risk markers: results from a randomized, cross-over, controlled trial in healthy and hypercholesterolemic subjects

Abstract

Este estudio evaluó los efectos del consumo regular de cantidades realistas de una mezcla de café verde/tostado (35:65), rico en compuestos antioxidantes, sobre los biomarcadores relacionados con la salud cardiovascular. Se llevó a cabo un estudio aleatorizado, cruzado y controlado en sujetos normo e hipercolesterolémicos. Durante 8 semanas, los voluntarios consumieron 6 g/día de café soluble verde/tostado o una bebida de control (agua o una bebida isotónica). Se controlaron la constantes cardiovasculares, el peso corporal, los lípidos séricos, las citocinas y las quimiocinas proinflamatorias, las moléculas de adhesión y la proteína C reactiva al final de cada intervención. También se determinó la capacidad antioxidante del plasma, la oxidación de lípidos y proteínas. La ingesta del producto de café mostró reducciones significativas de los niveles de CT, LDL-C, VLDL-C y triglicéridos y una mejora en la capacidad antioxidante plasmática. La presión arterial sistólica y diastólica, la frecuencia cardiaca y el peso corporal se redujeron en ambos grupos de intervención. El consumo regular de cantidades moderadas de una mezcla de café soluble verde/tostado (35:65) puede contribuir a mejorar la salud cardiovascular en personas moderadamente hipercolesterolémicas, ya que se han observado efectos reductores en los lípidos séricos, la presión arterial y el peso corporal, así como un aumento de la capacidad antioxidante plasmática. Además, en el grupo sano se obtuvieron influencias positivas sobre la presión arterial, el peso corporal y la capacidad antioxidante plasmática. Por lo tanto, la incorporación de granos de café verde a la infusión de café puede recomendarse como parte de una estrategia dietética de protección frente a las enfermedades cardiovasculares.

Purpose Cofee is rich in bioactive compounds with health benefcial properties, with green cofee presenting higher phenol content than roasted. We evaluated the efects of regularly consuming realistic amounts of a green/roasted cofee blend on cardiovascular health-related biomarkers. Methods A randomized, cross-over, controlled study was carried out in 25 normocholesterolemic [total cholesterol (TC)<200 mg/dL] and 27 hypercholesterolemic (TC 200–240 mg/dL) subjects. During 8 weeks, volunteers consumed 6 g/ day of soluble green/roasted (35:65) cofee or a control beverage (water or an isotonic drink). Blood pressure, heart rate and body weight were monitored at the end of each intervention, and serum lipids [TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, VLDL-C, triglycerides and phospholipids], cytokines and chemokines (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17, G-CSF, GM-CSF, MCP-1, MIP-1β, TNF-α, INF-γ), adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1), and C-reactive protein were measured. Plasma antioxidant capacity (FRAP, ORAC and ABTS methods), and lipid (malondialdehyde, MDA) and protein (carbonyl groups, CG) oxidation were also determined. Results Attending to the general lineal model of variance for repeated measures, after the green/roasted cofee intervention signifcant reductions in TC, LDL-C, VLDL-C and triglycerides levels (p=0.006, 0.001, 0.003 and 0.017, respectively), and a signifcant group efect were observed (0.001, <0.001, 0.019 and 0.027, respectively). Only within the hypercholesterolemic group, attending to the Bonferroni test, the aforementioned lipid parameters were signifcantly lower after regular green/ roasted cofee intake compared to baseline values. Moreover, after the cofee stage, plasma antioxidant capacity improved, according to the increase in ORAC and FRAP values (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively) and decrease of MDA (p=0.015) and CG (p<0.001) levels, without diferences between groups. Systolic (p=0.001) and diastolic (p<0.001) blood pressure, heart rate (p=0.035), and body weight (p=0.017) were reduced in both normo- and hypercholesterolemic groups. Conclusion Regular consumption of moderate amounts of a soluble green/roasted (35:65) cofee blend may contribute to improve cardiovascular health in moderately hypercholesterolemic people, as reducing serum lipids, blood pressure and body weight efects, as well as increasing plasma antioxidant capacity, have been observed. Moreover, positive infuences on blood pressure, body weight, and plasma antioxidant capacity were obtained in the healthy group. Therefore, incorporation of green cofee beans into the cofee brew can be recommended as part of a dietary strategy to protect from cardiovascular disease.