(P03-064-23) Blackcurrant Anthocyanins Improve Blood Lipid and Inflammatory Biomarkers of CVD Risk in Healthy Peri–And Postmenopausal Women Without Changing Body Composition

Objectives: Previous cell and animal studies suggest that blackcurrants (BC; Ribes nigrum) can be a potential dietary agent that may mitigate oxidative stress and inflammation and improve dyslipidemia, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of this study was to examine the effect of BC supplementation on CVD risk in healthy adult women in menopause transition and investigate the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: The effects of BC supplementation on blood pressure, anthropometrics and fasting blood lipids and inflammation were evaluated using clinical, anthropometric measures and blood samples collected from a 3-arm, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in peri- and early postmenopausal women. Thirty-eight peri- and early postmenopausal women aged 45-60 years were randomly assigned into one of three treatment groups for six months: placebo (control group), 392mg/day BC powder (low-BC group) and 784mg/day BC powder (high-BC group). The significance of differences in outcome variables was tested by repeated-measures ANOVA with treatment and time as between- and within-subject factors, respectively.

Results: Overall, blackcurrant supplementation decreased fasting plasma triglycerides (TG) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) compared to the control group (P  < 0.05) without changes in body composition. The 6-month change in TG was positively correlated with 6-month changes in CRP, IL-1β and fat mass index (P  < 0.05) in the study participants. Although not significant, we also observed a decrease in malondialdehyde for both low-BC and high-BC groups compared to the control group (P = 0.09).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that daily BC consumption for six months mitigates the risk of CVD, potentially through improving dyslipidemia, inflammation and lipid peroxidation. Further studies of larger samples and population with higher risk for CVD are warranted to confirm these findings.

Funding Sources: This study was supported by the University of Connecticut Hatch-Multistate Competitive Capacity Grant Program and the USDA NIFA Seed Grant to Ock K. Chun. We thank Just the Berries Ltd. for providing the blackcurrant extract.