Abstract
The circadian rhythm of biological systems is an important consideration in developing health interventions. The immune and oxidative defense systems exhibit circadian periodicity, with an anticipatory increase in activity coincident with the onset of the active period. Spice consumption is associated with enhanced oxidative defense. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of a protocol comparing the effects of morning vs. evening consumption of turmeric on urine markers of oxidative stress in obese, middle-aged adults. Using a within-sample design, participants received each of four clock time x treatment administrations, each separated by one week: morning turmeric; evening turmeric; morning control; evening control. Participants prepared for each lab visit by consuming a low-antioxidant diet for two days and fasting for 12 h. Urine was collected in the lab at baseline and one-hour post-meal and at home for the following five hours. The results showed that the processes were successful in executing the protocol and collecting the measurements and that participants understood and adhered to the instructions. The findings also revealed that the spice treatment did not elicit the expected antioxidant effect and that the six-hour post-treatment urine collection period did not detect differences in urine endpoints across treatments. This feasibility study revealed that modifications to the spice treatment and urine sampling timeline are needed before implementing a larger study.
Highlights
The health benefits of spice consumption are increasingly identified and described as biomedical research technologies progress
This feasibility study evaluated the outworking of a protocol testing the effect of clock time on oxidative stress biomarker levels following the consumption of a turmeric-rich meal
The rationale for the hypothesis was based on evidence showing circadian rhythmicity in blood and urine levels of oxidative stress markers [88] and findings that turmeric reduces oxidative stress markers [46,89]
Summary
The health benefits of spice consumption are increasingly identified and described as biomedical research technologies progress. Protection against immune activation involving the chronic release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen/nitrogen species is important because these molecules damage cellular membranes, DNA and proteins, resulting in diseases such as metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis, cancer and diabetes [13,14,15]. Spices exert their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant actions by modulating the gene expression and activity of enzymes and signaling proteins in molecular pathways of immune response [5,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22]
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