Exercise and Tart Cherry Increase Antioxidant Capacity after High‐Fat Meal Consumption

Abstract

BackgroundExercise and high phytonutrient foods have the potential to combat negative effects associated with a high‐fat (HF) meal by lowering postprandial oxidative stress and increasing antioxidant capacity.MethodsThirteen normal weight men (18–30 y), participated in a randomized cross‐over design of four trials: 1) HF meal plus Montmorency tart cherry (C), 2) HF meal plus placebo (P), 3) prior exercise to a HF meal plus Montmorency tart cherry (EC), and 4) prior exercise to a HF meal plus placebo (EP). For exercise trials, a 30 min bout of submaximal treadmill running was performed the afternoon prior to the HF test meal. The HF meal contained 920 kcals and 60 g of fat, with the total percent of calories coming from fat being 59%. Antioxidant capacity of plasma was measured at fasting, and 1, 2, and 3 hours postprandially.ResultsPostprandial oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) was significantly greater in the CE vs. PE trial (incremental area under the curve (iAUC): 4.10±1.59 vs. −0.58±1.70 mmol Trolox/L/3h, for CE vs. PE, respectively; p < 0.05). There were no other ORAC or postprandial ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) differences between trials.ConclusionThe CE trial resulted in greater postprandial antioxidant capacity compared to the PE trial as measured by ORAC. The lack of differences found using the FRAP assay indicates that Montmorency tart cherry consumption reduces oxidative stress primarily through a hydrogen atom transfer mechanism, as indicated through ORAC, rather than a single electron transfer as measured with FRAP.Support or Funding InformationResearch was supported by a seed grant from the AU/UGA Medical Partnership and UGA Clinical and Translational Research Unit.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.