Scientific Publications
Four-weeks consumption of anthocyanin-rich blood orange juice does not affect LDL-cholesterol or other biomarkers of CVD risk and glycaemia compared to standard orange juice: A randomised controlled trial.
British Journal of Nutrition
Elevated circulating cholesterol levels are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease which is also associated with sub-optimal vascular function. There is emerging evidence that anthocyanins can cause beneficial cardioprotective effects by favourably modulating lipoprotein profiles. We compared the effects of blood orange juice which is rich in anthocyanins and blonde orange juice without anthocyanins on LDL cholesterol and other biomarkers of CVD risk, vascular function and glycaemia. Forty-one participants (aged 25 – 84 years) with a waist circumference > 94 cm (men) and > 80 cm (women) completed a randomized, open label, two arm crossover trial. For 28 days’ participants ingested (i) 500 mL blood orange juice providing 50 mg anthocyanins per day and (ii) 500 mL blonde orange juice without anthocyanins. There was a minimum 3-week washout period between treatments. LDL cholesterol and other biomarkers associated with CVD risk and glycaemia were assessed at the start and end of each treatment period. No significant differences were observed in total, HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, fructosamine, nitric oxide, C-reactive protein, aortic SBP and DBP or carotid-femoral and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity after 28 days’ ingestion of blood orange juice compared to standard orange juice. The lack of effect on LDL-cholesterol may be due to the modest concentration of anthocyanins in the blood orange juice.
British Journal of Nutrition
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