Abstract
n-3-polyunsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols are potential key factors for the treatment and prevention of chronic inflammation associated to ageing and non-communicable diseases. The aim was to analyse effects of an almond and olive oil beverage enriched with α-tocopherol and docosahexaenoic, exercise and age on inflammatory plasma markers, and immune gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Five young and five senior athletes who were supplemented for five weeks with a functional beverage performed a stress test under controlled conditions before and after beverage supplementation. Blood samples were taken immediately before and 1 h after each test. Plasma, erythrocytes and PBMCs were isolated. Beverage supplementation increased plasmatic Tumour Necrosis Factor α (TNFα) levels depending on age and exercise. Exercise increased plasma non esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), soluble Intercellular adhesion molecule 3 (sICAM3) and soluble L-selectin (sL-Selectin), and this increase was attenuated by the supplementation. Exercise increased PGE2 plasma levels in supplemented young and in senior placebo athletes. Exercise increased NFkβ-activated levels in PBMCs, which are primed to a pro-inflammatory response increasing pro-inflammatory genes expression after the exercise mainly in the young group after the supplementation. The functional beverage supplementation to young athletes enhances a pro-inflammatory circulating environment in response to the exercise that was less evident in the senior group.
Highlights
Functional foods enriched with specific nutrients present in natural foods are a good tool in functional food design
The daily intake of one litre of the beverage, five days a week, represents daily supplementation with an average of 18.6 g/day fat, 32.6 mg/day of vitamin E, and 36.4 mg/day of polyphenols
The dietary recommendation of vitamin E for active athletes is based on the daily energy consumed [38]; the vitamin E content in the functional beverage would supply the vitamin E
Summary
Functional foods enriched with specific nutrients present in natural foods are a good tool in functional food design. Nuts such as almonds are an important source of essential nutrients, such as arginine, calcium, potassium, niacin, α-tocopherol, fibre, monounsaturated fatty acids and Nutrients 2016, 8, 619; doi:10.3390/nu8100619 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients. Olive oil is an emblematic ingredient of the Mediterranean diet and is the most important differentiating factor compared to other countries as a source of polyphenols [5]. Supplementing a Mediterranean diet with olive oil or nuts increases the total polyphenol intake, which correlates with higher plasma nitric oxide (NO) and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure [9]. Supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, antioxidants and vitamins are widely consumed for better health and athletic achievement [10]
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