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Bittersweet result for dark chocolate

17 Jul 2012

Studies show that polyphenol-rich dark chocolate has health benefits for overweight females

UK scientists have clinically proven that consuming polyphenol-rich dark chocolate has health benefits for overweight and obese females, whilst showing adverse effects for polyphenol-deficient chocolate.

Evidence already shows that polyphenol-rich dark chocolate can benefit blood pressure and glucose levels in healthy people, thanks to dark chocolate’s antioxidant properties. Fewer studies have examined the involvement of the endocrine system – glands that secrete hormones – in mediating the cardiometabolic health-effects of polyphenols, until now.

Suzana Almoosawi from Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge, and the Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh and her colleagues, applied these findings to a group of healthy women with a range of body mass indexes (BMIs). Obesity is often linked to numerous chronic diseases, such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes, so the team were keen to study the metabolic effects observed for different concentrations of polyphenols in dark chocolate, across a range of BMIs.

Read the full article in Chemistry World

Link to journal article
Differential effect of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate on biomarkers of glucose metabolism and cardiovascular risk factors in healthy, overweight and obese subjects: a randomized clinical trial
S Almoosawi et al
Food Funct., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/c2fo30060e

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Tropical fruit to tackle obesity

29 May 2012

Mango peel is better than the flesh at inhibiting adipogenesis (the development of fat cells)

Researchers in Australia have found that chemicals in the peel, but not the flesh, of certain mango varieties prevent the formation of fat cells.

Obesity is a global issue linked with many complex health problems including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Fatty (adipose) tissue is produced in the body by increases in the number of fat cells (adipocytes) and increased lipid content in those cells. Adipocytes develop via adipogenesis, a process involving the development of pre-adipocyte cells and lipid accumulation. By disrupting this process, it is possible to reduce fat accumulation in the body.

Read the full article in Chemistry World

Link to journal article
Mango Fruit Peel and Flesh Extracts Affect Adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 Cells
Meng-Wong Taing, Jean-Thomas Pierson, Van L.T. Hoang, Paul N Shaw, Ralf G Dietzgen, Michael Gidley, Sarah J Roberts-Thomson and Gregory R Monteith
Food Funct., 2012, Accepted Manuscript, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO30073G, Paper

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Smuggling medicines in food

20 Mar 2012

US scientists have encapsulated a nutraceutical – a dietary supplement with medicinal benefits – inside hydrocolloids to deliver it intact into the human body in food.

Currently, nutraceuticals’ applications in food are ‘limited by poor water solubility and instability under normal processing and storage conditions’, says Srinivas Janaswamy from Purdue University. To address this problem, Janaswamy and his team encapsulated curcumin molecules (a plant phenol found in turmeric with anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-obese properties) inside water pockets in crystalline hydrocolloid fibres.

Hydrocolloids – in which the colloid particles are dispersed in water – are already used as thickeners and gelling agents in food. The hydrocolloid Janaswamy’s team used was a sodium salt of iota-carrageenan, which is cheap and holds a generally recognised as safe (GRAS) status. It belongs to a family of polysaccharides extracted from marine algae for use in food and pharmaceutical applications.

Schematic encapsulation of curcumin in the hydrocolloid matrix. The filled circles are cations (black), water molecules (green) and sulfate groups (red and blue)

Read the full article in Chemistry World

Link to journal article
Hydrocolloid-based nutraceutical delivery systems
Srinivas Janaswamy and Susanne R. Youngren
Food Funct., 2012, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO10281A

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