Effectiveness of Consumption of a Combination of Citrus Fruit Flavonoids and Olive Leaf Polyphenols to Reduce Oxidation of Low-Density Lipoprotein in Treatment-Naïve Cardiovascular Risk Subjects: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Study

• Published in: Antioxidants 2021-04, Vol.10 (4), p.589
• Main Authors: Victoria-Montesinos, Desirée, Abellán Ruiz, María Salud, Luque Rubia, Antonio J, Guillén Martínez, Daniel, Pérez-Piñero, Silvia, Sánchez Macarro, Maravillas, García-Muñoz, Ana María, Cánovas García, Fernando, Castillo Sánchez, Julián, López-Román, Francisco Javier
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: antioxidant; Apolipoproteins; Arteriosclerosis; Blood; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; cardiovascular risk; Cholesterol; Citrus fruits; Diabetes; Dietary supplements; Disease prevention; Double-blind studies; Females; Flavonoids; food supplements; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Intervention; Laboratories; Leaves; Lipid metabolism; Lipoproteins; Males; Mortality; oleuropeosides; olive leaf extracts; Oxidation; Paraoxonase; Placebos; Plant extracts; Polyphenols; Risk factors; Standard deviation; Statistical analysis; Triglycerides; Variables; Variance analysis; Women
• ISSN: 2076-3921; 2076-3921
• DOI: 10.3390/antiox10040589

The aim of the study was to assess whether oral intake of a nutraceutical product (Citrolive™) could determine changes in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and other parameters of lipid metabolism and plasma atherogenic capacity. Citrolive™ is a commercial extract obtained from the combination of citrus fruit flavonoids and olive leaf extracts. Twenty-three untreated subjects (69.6% males, 30.4% females, mean age 41.9 ± 9.4 years) with cardiovascular risk factors and a total cholesterol level >200 mg/dL and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) > 130 mg/dL participated in a 3-month randomized double-blind controlled study. Participants in the intervention group (71.4% males, 28.6% females, mean age 42.7 ± 9.7 years) consumed Citrolive™ (500 mg, two capsules/day), and controls (66.7% males, 33.3% females, mean age 40.6 ± 9.4 years) received a matched placebo. At 3 months, oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) decreased significantly in the intervention group from 93.8 ± 19.1 U/L to 62.8 ± 28.7 U/L ( < 0.05), whereas the control group increased from 98.2 ± 23.5 U/L to 105.7 ± 21.9 U/L ( = 0.1). Between-group differences were also significant ( < 0.05). Similar findings in the ox-LDL/LDL-C ratio were observed. Serum paraoxonase activity (PON1) increased significantly in the intervention group from 64.5 ± 15.6 U/L to 78.7 ± 28.8 U/L ( < 0.05) but remained unchanged in controls. Consumption of Citrolive™ for 3 months in treatment-naïve subjects with moderate risk of atherosclerosis was associated with a reduction in oxidized LDL-C and LDL-oxidase/LDL-C ratio as compared to controls.