Cheese intake lowers plasma cholesterol concentrations without increasing bile acid excretion

AbstractPurposeCheese is a dairy product with high calcium content. It has been suggested that calcium intake may increase fecal excretion of bile acids that would cause a regeneration of bile acids from hepatic cholesterol and thereby result in a lowering of plasma cholesterol concentrations. We aimed to test this hypothesis by assessing bile acid and calcium concentrations in fecal samples from humans after intake of cheese and butter.MethodsThe study was a randomized, 2 × 6 weeks crossover, dietary intervention study including 23 men and women who replaced part of their habitual dietary fat intake with 13% energy from cheese or butter.ResultsAfter 6 weeks of intervention cheese resulted in higher amounts of calcium excreted in feces compared to butter. However, no difference was observed in fecal bile acid output despite lower serum total, LDL and HDL cholesterol concentrations observed with cheese intake.ConclusionWe were not able to confirm the hypothesis that calcium from cheese increases the excretion of fecal bile acids. Therefore, the mechanisms responsible for the lowering of cholesterol concentrations with cheese compared to butter intake remains unresolved

<em>In vitro</em> liberation of carotenoids from spinach and Asia Salads after different domestic kitchen procedures

AbstractGreen-leafy vegetables are rich in nutritionally important constituents including carotenoids. Their potential health benefits depend among others on their liberation from the plant matrix. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of particle size and heat treatments on lutein and β-carotene liberation from spinach and Asia salads by applying an in vitro digestion protocol and UHPLC analysis. Reduction of particle size resulted in a three- to fourfold increase in liberation of lutein and β-carotene when comparing whole leaf and puree preparations of spinach. However, this positive effect was shown to be nullified by the severe heat impact during stir-frying of minced spinach, showing that domestic treatments need to be chosen carefully to maximise carotenoid liberation. Steaming significantly improved lutein liberation from Asia salads, but had no or a negative effect in spinach samples, possibly due to differences in liberation or degradation between the two plant matrices

Detecting beer intake by unique metabolite patterns

Evaluation of the health related effects of beer intake is hampered by the lack of accurate tools for assessing intakes (biomarkers). Therefore, we identified plasma and urine metabolites associated with recent beer intake by untargeted metabolomics and established a characteristic metabolite pattern representing raw materials and beer production as a qualitative biomarker of beer intake. In a randomized, crossover, single-blinded meal study (MSt1), 18 participants were given, one at a time, four different test beverages: strong, regular, and nonalcoholic beers and a soft drink. Four participants were assigned to have two additional beers (MSt2). In addition to plasma and urine samples, test beverages, wort, and hops extract were analyzed by UPLC-QTOF. A unique metabolite pattern reflecting beer metabolome, including metabolites derived from beer raw material (i.e., <i>N</i>-methyl tyramine sulfate and the sum of iso-α-acids and tricyclohumols) and the production process (i.e., pyro-glutamyl proline and 2-ethyl malate), was selected to establish a compliance biomarker model for detection of beer intake based on MSt1. The model predicted the MSt2 samples collected before and up to 12 h after beer intake correctly (AUC = 1). A biomarker model including four metabolites representing both beer raw materials and production steps provided a specific and accurate tool for measurement of beer consumption