Dietary modifications are usually one of the first recommendations made by healthcare providers when someone is diagnosed with pre-hypertension or metabolic syndrome. But while adopting a healthier diet may seem easy, many people find it difficult to change their old eating habits. Now two new studies indicate that adding a grape seed extract supplement, which is high in beneficial polyphenols, may help people at risk to improve their cardiovascular health.

In two newly published human clinical studies conducted by the University of California, Davis researchers have concluded that a patented grape seed extract may help lower blood pressure in individuals with pre-hypertension, and may reduce post-meal glycemic response as well as LDL concentrations in individuals diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. These studies build on an already solid body of scientific evidence of grape seed extract’s cardiovascular benefits.

Representatives from Polyphenolics, which supplied its MegaNatural products for both studies, will be on hand to discuss the findings during Engredea 2013 at Booth #451.

Reducing blood pressure among pre-hypertensive adults
Hypertension affects approximately 60 percent of Americans, and remains a major cause of death in the U.S. It is currently estimated that 31 percent of adults over age 18 are pre-hypertensive. It has been suggested that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables promotes lower blood pressure in part because of the phenolic compounds contained by plant products. Previous studies have shown that Polyphenolics’ MegaNatural-BP grape seed extract helps to reduce blood pressure by relaxing blood vessel walls.

In the results of a randomized double blind, placebo-controlled study, published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Nutrition Sciences, UC Davis researchers describe how grape seed extract significantly lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure among 32 pre-hypertensive adults after just eight weeks. MegaNatural-BP was chosen for use in this study. “This study showed that the extract when administered orally at a dose of 300 mg daily resulted in a significant reduction in blood pressure,” commented lead researcher C. Tissa Kappagoda, professor, director Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, UC Davis.

While acknowledging that the study was small, the researchers commented that this is evidence that the polyphenolic compounds present in grape seed extract, “could form the non-pharmaceutical basis for managing hypertension.” They added that supplementation could be a means for stemming the short- and medium-term results of a poor diet.

Managing post-meal LDL cholesterol levels, and glycemic responses, among adults with metabolic syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a growing health concern that is associated with impaired glucose tolerance and poor glycemic control. Eating meals high in readily available carbohydrates and fats causes an increase in blood glucose and lipid levels, as well as increases in markers for oxidative stress, inflammation and insulin resistance.

UC Davis researchers investigated whether grape seed extract, which is rich in mono-, oligo- and poly-metric polyphenols, would modify post-meal oxidative stress and inflammation among adults diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. The results of the randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled study were published in the journal: Functional Foods in Health and Disease. MegaNatural-Gold Grape Seed Extract was used in this human clinical study.

In the study, 12 individuals were randomized to receive either grape seed extract or a placebo approximately one hour before eating a high-fat, high-carb breakfast containing approximately 670 calories, 40 percent of which were from fat. This breakfast mimics the typical Westernized eating patterns which are associated with such chronic diseases as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Participants who received the grape seed extract had improved antioxidant status and experienced reduced blood sugar spikes after their meal.

The researchers concluded that these findings support a growing body of research that suggests consuming polyphenol-rich foods and extracts with or within an hour of a meal can minimize some of the unfavorable effects of modern diets and lifestyle patterns.

Polyphenolics, a division of Constellation Brands, Inc., manufactures, markets and sells ingredients for nutraceutical, functional and medical foods. To learn more about this research, as well as other studies using Polyphenolics’ MegaNatural grape seed extract products, visit Polyphenolics at Booth #451 during the upcoming Engredea 2013 Exposition, March 8-10 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Or, visit www.Polyphenolics.com.

The post Recently published UC Davis studies provide further evidence of grape seed extract’s benefits on hypertension, cholesterol and glycemic response appeared first on Polyphenolics.

Endothelial health presents new avenue for polyphenols, experts say

By Hank Schultz, 07-Sep-2012

Related topics: Research

Millions of American suffer from a stealthy condition.  When things go wrong in the endothelium, that thin layer of cells lining the blood vessels things go south in a hurry:  high blood pressure, atherosclerotic lesions, plaques and full blown cardiovascular disease.

But how to help customers who show no symptoms­–and who don’t know what the word endothelium means in the first place–is the challenge that scientists, product formulators and marketers working in the field face. And a further challenge: how to communicate benefits without running afoul of regulators.

It’s a huge challenge (and a big opportunity) and one that is growing.

“Cardiovascular health has three or four main reservoirs of illness in the United States. People who have high blood pressure, people who are overweight, people who have metabolic syndrome. That amalgam of people accounts for somewhere between 60 and 70 percent of the population above the age of 20.  That’s a huge number,” C.Tissa Kappagoda, PhD of the University of California Davis told NutraIgredients-USA.

These are the people who will suffer strokes and heart attacks, Dr.Kappagoda said.  And one of the harbingers of these conditions is dysfunction in the endothelium, that thin layer of cells that lines the body’s blood vessels. This layer performs many functions including maintaining the suppleness of blood vessels and regulating the activity of neutrophils, white blood cells that form a key part of the immune system.

It all starts in the endothelium

Dysfunction in the endothelium leads to arteries with little suppleness, contributing to high blood pressure, and arteries that are chronically inflamed, leading to an overabundance of adhesion molecules.  A little bit of prevention here can go a long way, like the Spartans pinching off the Persians at the pass, holding back a tidal wave of disease.

“There is a lot being learned at endothelial function right now because there are a lot of cardiovascular scientists who are looking much more carefully within those cells. They’re learning a lot that there are things they can do within those cells, possibly upregulating certain proteins that could possibly mitigate diseases that are connected to endothelial dysfunction,” said Alex Schauss. PhD, CEO of AIBMR, a Seattle-based scientific and regulatory consultancy.

Endothelial health is gaining more visibility with the product formulation community. One of the sessions at the recent Institute of Food Technologists show in Las Vegas in June focused on the category as a possible avenue for new health claims.

Gertjan den Hartog, PhD of Maastricht University in the Netherlands has studied the polyphenols in grape seed extracts and chocolate and was one of the speakers at the IFT endothelial health session.

“I  looked endothelial health just now to see how many hits I get and I see a lot of people are working on this right now,” den Hartog said. “Everything that has to do with cardiovascular health starts in the endothelium. If you can promote the health of this tiny layer of cells you can promote the health of the whole cardiovascular system.”

One of the longtime players in the field is Polyphenolics, a Madera, Calif.-based manufacturer of a propriety grape seed extract branded as MegaNatural^®-BP. One of the structure-function claims the product bears is “helps maintain healthy endothelial function.”

The MegaNatural^®-BP ingredient is a broad-spectrum extract featuring a number of compounds of differing activity.  The whole extract has been the subject of a number of studies conducted by Dr. Kappagoda.

Getting past the ORAC fixation

One of the things that Polyphenolics has been moving away from is quoting ORAC values; a trend within industry generally.  Drilling down toward specific benefits such as endothelial health is one of the ways a manufacturer can communicate benefits without getting into an ORAC war, said Anil Shirkhande, PhD, president of Polyphenolics, which is a division of Constellation Brands.

“We are an antioxidant,” said Dr. Shirkhande said. “I think (ORAC) is a good indicator outside the cell, but when it goes inside the cell I don’t how it behaves because you’ve got different fragments there, some of which are more water soluable and so forth.”

It’s a tricky market to reach and will continue to present challenges for the future, said Mike Danielson, director of the health and medical division of Media Relations, a Minneapolis-based marketing consultancy.

“Just saying ‘endothelial,’ it’s a tongue-twister by itself. The consumer doesn’t feel anything. Many of them don’t know their (blood pressure) numbers.”

Source: http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Endothelial-health-presents-new-avenue-for-polyphenols-experts-say

The post Endothelial health presents new avenue for polyphenols, experts say appeared first on Polyphenolics.