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A comprehensive approach to the bioavailability and cardiometabolic effects of the bioactive compounds present in espresso coffee and confectionery-derived coffee
- Pedro Mena, Michele Tassotti, Alice Rosi, Daniela Martini, Laura Righetti, Monica Antonini, Margherita Dall'Asta, Letizia Bresciani, Federica Fantuzzi, Valentina Spigoni, Angel Gil-Izquierdo, Raúl Domínguez-Perles, Pedro Luis Tornel, Soledad Del Pozo-Luengo, Donato Angelino, Cristian Del Bo', Chiara Dall'Asta, Patrizia Riso, Alessandra Dei Cas, Riccardo Bonadonna, Furio Brighenti, Daniele Del Rio
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E123
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Coffee is an important source of bioactive compounds, including caffeine, trigonelline, and phenolic compounds. Several studies have highlighted the preventive effects of coffee consumption on major cardiometabolic diseases, but the impact of coffee dosage on markers of cardiometabolic risk is not well understood. Moreover, the pool of coffee-derived circulating metabolites in real-life settings is unknown. This study evaluated the bioavailability and effects on recognised cardiometabolic markers of coffee bioactives, considering different levels of consumption. An innovative experimental design, including both a chronic and an acute sub-study, and a comprehensive analytical approach were used.
A 3-arm, randomised, crossover trial was conducted in 21 healthy volunteers (age, 23 ± 2 y; BMI, 22.3 ± 2.5 kg/m2) (Mena et al., Trials 2017, 18, 527). Volunteers were assigned to consume 3 treatments for 4 weeks, including 1 cup of espresso coffee/day, 3 cups of espresso coffee/day, and 1 cup of espresso coffee plus 2 cocoa-based confectionary products containing-coffee twice per day. The last day of each treatment, blood and urine samples were collected at specific time points for 24 hours. Dietary intake, body weight, BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, nitric oxide, inflammatory markers (IL-8, TNFα, VEGF), trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), DNA damage, DNA catabolites, and eicosanoids were assessed. The pool of coffee-derived circulating metabolites was also assessed in acute conditions. Untargeted metabolomics was performed.
Energy intake did not change among treatments after 4 weeks, while significant differences were observed in the intake of saturated fatty acids and carbohydrates. The effect of different coffee dosages on the set of cardiometabolic markers assessed was negligible. Plasma and urinary pharmacokinetic profiles were evaluated for 6 caffeine metabolites, 3 trigonelline derivatives, and up to 40 phenolic metabolites. Pharmacokinetics highlighted the different “waves” of circulating metabolites occurring upon repeated coffee consumption. Differences in several pharmacokinetic parameters were observed among treatments, which may support the long-term cardiometabolic benefits of certain patterns of coffee consumption. Multivariate analyses clearly differentiated treatments on the basis of the urinary metabolome.
This work provided a comprehensive picture of the impact of different coffee dosages on the pool of coffee-derived circulating metabolites, the urinary metabolome, and a wide number of cardiometabolic markers. Multivariate analyses focused on inter-individual differences are ongoing to better understand the effect of coffee on cardiometabolic health.
Nutritional quality of biscuits, breakfast cereals and sweet snacks sold in Italy: the Food Labelling of Italian Products (FLIP) study
- Donato Angelino, Alice Rosi, Margherita Dall'Asta, Nicoletta Pellegrini, Daniela Martini
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E570
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In Europe, the label information on food is regulated by the Reg. (EU) n.1169/2011 but many other regulated declarations (e.g. nutrition or heath claims (NHC), presence of gluten) can be provided on the pack. All this information could influence the perception of food quality and thus the consumers’ intention-to-buy. However, whether the nutritional quality of food products is comparable among products with different characteristics (e.g. presence/absence of NHC, gluten free (GF) declaration, brand) has been barely studied.
Based on these premises, the Food Labelling of Italian Products (FLIP) Study aims to systematically investigate the overall nutritional quality of the main food categories sold on the Italian market. The present work focused on sweet cereal-based products (biscuits, breakfast cereals, and sweet snacks).
Products were selected from the website of thirteen retailers present on the Italian market and data were collected from the complete images of all the sides of the pack. Then, biscuits, breakfast cereals, and sweet snacks were further sub-grouped for specific comparisons considering i) descriptive name reported, ii) presence/absence of GF declaration, iii) presence/absence of NHC declaration, iv) brand/own label. Data of energy, nutrient and salt contents per 100 grams of product for each product category were considered and comparisons among the sub-groups were performed (Mann Whitney test or Kruskal Wallis one-way ANOVA based on two or multiple independent samples, respectively) (ver. 25.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). In addition, a Principal Component Analysis was performed for all products and for each product sub-category by considering energy and nutrient contents per 100 grams of product to better describe the inter-product nutritional variability.
A total of 814 biscuits, 371 breakfast cereals and 476 sweet snacks were included. Limited differences were found between branded and own label products and between GF and gluten-containing products. Conversely, interesting differences were observed between products with and without NHC. For instance, biscuits with nutrition claims resulted with an overall lower content of total energy, total fats and sugars compared to product without these claims, in agreement with previous investigations. Finally, a high inter-product variability was observed among the different sub-categories for the three product categories.
Future researches performed within the FLIP study will allow to have a clearer picture about the nutritional quality of food products sold in Italy and to understand if specific food characteristics might be considered as a “marker” of the overall quality of food products
Effects of popular diets on anthropometric and metabolic parameters: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials
- Monica Dinu, Giuditta Pagliai, Donato Angelino, Alice Rosi, Margherita Dall'Asta, Letizia Bresciani, Cinzia Ferraris, Monica Guglielmetti, Justyna Godos, Cristian Del Bò, Daniele Nucci, Erika Meroni, Linda Landini, Daniela Martini, Francesco Sofi
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E672
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Introduction:
The prevalence of overweight, obesity, and their related complications is increasing worldwide. We aimed to summarise and critically evaluate the effects of different popular diets on anthropometric parameters and metabolic risk factors.
Material and methods:An umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials was conducted according to the Joanna Briggs Institute Umbrella Review Methodology. The review protocol has been registered on PROSPERO (ID: CRD42019126103). Medline, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Web of Science were searched from inception to April 2019 to identify meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials that examined the effects of different diets on anthropometric parameters and metabolic risk factors. For each association, we estimated the summary effect size by random-effects and fixed-effects models, the 95% confidence interval, and the 95% prediction interval. We also assessed the between-study heterogeneity and evidence for small-study effects. We further applied standardized methodological criteria to evaluate the epidemiological credibility of the statistically significant associations.
Results:Overall, 80 articles reporting 495 unique meta-analyses were examined, covering a wide range of popular diets: low-carbohydrate (n = 21 articles), high-protein (n = 8), low-fat (n = 9), palaeolithic (n = 2), low glycaemic index/load (n = 12), intermittent energy restriction (n = 6), Mediterranean (n = 11), Nordic (n = 2), vegetarian (n = 9), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension or DASH (n = 6), and portfolio dietary pattern (n = 1). The methodological quality of most articles (n = 65; 81%), evaluated using the AMSTAR-2 questionnaire, was low or critically low. The strength of evidence was generally weak. The most consistent evidence was reported for Mediterranean diet, with suggestive evidence of an improvement in weight, body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure. Suggestive evidence of an improvement in weight and blood pressure was also reported for DASH diet. Low-carbohydrate, high-protein, low-fat and low-glycaemic index/load diets showed suggestive and/or weak evidence of a reduction in weight and BMI, but contrasting evidence for lipid, glycaemic and blood pressure parameters, suggesting potential risks of unfavourable effects. Finally, evidence for palaeolithic, intermittent energy restriction, Nordic, vegetarian and portfolio dietary patterns was graded as weak or not statistically significant.
Discussion:Most meta-analyses showed low methodological quality and the strength of evidence, assessed using evidence classification criteria, was generally weak. Among all the diets evaluated, Mediterranean diet had the strongest and most consistent evidence of a positive effect on both anthropometric parameters and metabolic risk factors.
Validation of a nutrition knowledge questionnaire in Italian students attending the University of Parma
- Alice Rosi, Daniela Martini, Giuseppe Grosso, Maria Laura Bonaccio, Francesca Scazzina, Donato Angelino
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- Journal:
- Public Health Nutrition / Volume 23 / Issue 9 / June 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 08 April 2020, pp. 1527-1531
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Objective:
The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of a self-administered nutrition knowledge (NK) questionnaire for Italian university students.
Design:The NK questionnaire included ninety questions on experts’ nutritional recommendations, nutritional content of food, health aspects of food and diets, relationship between diet and diseases, and proper food choices. It was administered to the same population under the same conditions on two different occasions with a time interval of 3 weeks between the two administrations.
Setting:The survey was carried out at the University of Parma (Italy) during the 2018–2019 academic year.
Participants:Data were collected for 132 bachelor and master degree students attending the University of Parma, either attending or not nutrition classes during their studies (19–30 years, 29·5 % males, 57·6 % with an academic nutrition background).
Results:The questionnaire revealed high overall internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α > 0·8) and a good temporal stability with high correlation of the total score (r = 0·835, P < 0·001). Moreover, it showed a good ability to discriminate between subjects with potentially different NK.
Conclusions:This NK questionnaire proved to be a reliable, valid and easy-to-use tool for assessing the NK of Italian university students, either with or without nutrition background.