The effect of acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) intake on the atherosclerosis inflammatory mediators (sCD40L e CCL5) in apparently healthy women

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of acai pulp consumption on biometric parameters and inflammatory biomarkers (sCD40L, CCL5, TNF-a and CRP) in apparently healthy women.

Design/methodology/approach

Nutritional intervention was performed with women who consumed 200 g of acai pulp daily during 30 consecutive days. Firstly, they were divided into two groups: normal weight and overweight related to BMI. Then, such volunteers were subdivided into other two groups according to values below or above the median of sCD40L.

Findings

sCD40L (ρg/mL) concentrations increased in overweight volunteers post-consumption of acai (964 ± 542) compared with the same volunteers pre-consumption of acai (633 ± 187, p = 0.03), and the CCL5 concentrations (ρg/mL) decreased in volunteers with sCD40L concentrations below median after the treatment (4.1 ± 1.5) when compared in same volunteers before the treatment (5.8 ± 1.8, p = 0.02). Protein consumption (g) reduced in volunteers with sCD40L concentrations below median after the intervention (96.6 ± 44.5), when compared before the intervention (96.7 ± 33.8, p = 0.03).

Originality/value

This paper concluded that the acai consumption can modulate the inflammatory profile in both stratified volunteers according to the BMI and the sCD40L marker median.

Citation

de Freitas Castro, T., Fátima Gomes, S., Cacilda dos Santos Silva, F., Pereira de Oliveira, F.L., Ferreira do Amaral, J., Dória Ribeiro de Andrade Previato, H., Nascimento de Freitas, R. and Pinheiro Volp, A.C. (2020), "The effect of acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) intake on the atherosclerosis inflammatory mediators (sCD40L e CCL5) in apparently healthy women", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 50 No. 1, pp. 216-228. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-11-2018-0321