Abstract
(1) Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is pathogenically characterized by high oxidative stress and symptomatically by progressive muscle loss and increased body fat associated with the presence of depression. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) (particularly present in green tea) and ketone bodies (in particular beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB)), whose main source is coconut oil, have shown emotional benefits and body fat loss. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of EGCG and coconut oil on cortisol activity related to fat loss and depression in MS patients. (2) Methods: The study involved 51 MS patients who were randomly divided into an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group received 800 mg of EGCG and 60 mL of coconut oil, which were included in their daily diet for four months. The control group received placebo and all patients followed an isocaloric diet. A blood sample was collected before and after the four-month period, and levels of cortisol, albumin and BHB were measured in serum. In addition, immediately before and after the intervention, anthropometric variables were measured: waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body fat mass percentage, fat weight, total weight, and muscle mass percentage. Depression was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). (3) Results: No significant changes were obtained in cortisol levels in any of the groups, and there was a significant increase in albumin in the blood of the intervention group only that could lead to a decrease in serum free cortisol. In addition, it was observed a significant decrease in levels of depression and abdominal fat. (4) Conclusions: EGCG combined with coconut oil increase the concentration of albumin in blood and produce less depression in MS patients.
Highlights
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of an inflammatory nature characterized by the progressive loss of myelin that covers the axon of neurons [1]
The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of both groups are shown in Table 1, where it can be seen that there were no significant differences in the analyzed variables between groups
Significant decreases in waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fat percentage and fat weight occurred in the intervention group, while no changes were observed in the control group
Summary
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of an inflammatory nature characterized by the progressive loss of myelin that covers the axon of neurons [1]. One of the pathogenic mechanisms of the disease is due to high oxidative stress, mainly based on generating mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS). They stimulate NLRP3 inflammasomes which, when acting on the mitochondria, promote local inflammatory lesions. An increase in oxidative stress is associated with a deregulation of the hypothalamus–hypophysis–adrenal gland axis (HHA) [3]. This deregulation is characterized by a hyperactivity of HHA, which increases cortisol levels which, in turn, are related to the presence of depression. This has been evidenced mainly because, in people with depression, the following are evident: the secretion of cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), responsible for the stimulation of cortisol synthesis in the adrenal cortex, increases, which is reflected in high rates of urinary cortisol production; corticotropin-releasing stimulating hormone (CRH) levels in cerebrospinal fluid are elevated; there are increases the number of CRH-secreting neurons in the limbic regions of the brain; and the number of CRH binding sites in the frontal cortex is reduced as a consequence of the increase in the CRH concentration [4,5]
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