Adopting a High-Polyphenolic Diet Is Associated with an Improved Glucose Profile: Prospective Analysis within the PREDIMED-Plus Trial

Previous studies suggested that dietary polyphenols could reduce the incidence and complications of type-2 diabetes (T2D); although the evidence is still limited and inconsistent. This work analyzes whether changing to a diet with a higher polyphenolic content is associated with an improved glucose profile. At baseline, and at 1 year of follow-up visits, 5921 participants (mean age 65.0 ± 4.9, 48.2% women) who had overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome filled out a validated 143-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), from which polyphenol intakes were calculated. Energy-adjusted total polyphenols and subclasses were categorized in tertiles of changes. Linear mixed-effect models with random intercepts (the recruitment centers) were used to assess associations between changes in polyphenol subclasses intake and 1-year plasma glucose or glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. Increments in total polyphenol intake and some classes were inversely associated with better glucose levels and HbA1c after one year of follow-up. These associations were modified when the analyses were run considering diabetes status separately. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the relationship between changes in the intake of all polyphenolic groups and T2D-related parameters in a senior population with T2D or at high-risk of developing T2

A simple and efficient method for onion pollen preservation: Germination, dehydration, storage conditions, and seed production

33 Pags.- 6 Figs.- 1 Tabl. The definitive version is available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/scientia-horticulturaeThe preservation of viable pollen is essential to overcome the problems related to the asynchronous flowering of the parental lines in onion hybrid breeding programs. The aim of this study was to establish a simple, inexpensive, and easily reproducible protocol for medium-term onion pollen storage. First, the conditions for assessing the in vitro pollen germination were optimized. The liquid medium favored the counting of germination of pollen grains in comparison to the solid medium. The addition of 75 mg/l Ca(NO3)2. 4H2O to the medium did not improve pollen germination, while that of 150 mg/l Ca(NO3)2. 4H2O inhibited pollen germination. The highest germination percentage was achieved by incubation at 30–35 °C in the dark. Second, fresh or dehydrated pollen (maintained in a desiccator with silica gel at 25 °C for 18 h) was stored at 4, –20, and –80 °C for two years to study pollen preservation. In addition, the viability and germination capacity of stored pollen were periodically evaluated at 0, 15 and 30 days; 2 and 6 months; and 1 and 2 years. Pollen viability was best retained at low relative humidity and temperatures below zero. Dehydration was essential for pollen preservation at –20 and –80 °C. The results showed that dehydrated pollen stored at –20 °C could be used, with guarantees, for pollination throughout the flowering season. However, the highest viability and in vitro germination percentages after two years of storage (29 and 32%, respectively) were achieved with dehydrated pollen stored at –80 °C. Finally, the capacity of stored pollen to produce seeds was confirmed in crosses with male sterile lines. In this way, dehydrated pollen stored at –80 °C for two years produced an average of 47.9 seeds/100 flowers, representing 43% of the seed in the control crosses. This is the first report in onion research of seed production after pollination with preserved pollen at –80 °C for two years.OF was a recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness FPI (INIA-FEDER). This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness INIA-FEDER (RTA2015-00042-C02-01), by the Agreement EEAD-CSIC with CITA-Aragón for “Onion Doubled Haploid Production and Development of a Pollen Preservation Protocol”, and by the Aragon Government (Groups A11-20R and A08-20R).Peer reviewe

Fatty acids composition of blood cell membranes and peripheral inflammation in the PREDIMED Study: a cross-sectional analysis

There is limited evidence from epidemiological studies for the inflammatory or anti-inflammatory properties of fatty acids in blood cell membranes. Therefore, this study examined associations between baseline (n = 282) and 1-year (n = 143) changes in the levels of fatty acids in blood cell membranes with circulating inflammatory markers in older adults at high cardiovascular risk. The data for this cross-sectional analysis was obtained from a case-control study within the PREDIMED study. Linear regression with elastic net penalty was applied to test associations between measured fatty acids and inflammatory markers. Several fatty acids were associated with interferon-γ (IFNγ) and interleukins (ILs) IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 at baseline and additionally also with IL-1b at 1 year. Omega-6 fatty acids were consistently positively associated with pro-inflammatory IL-6 and IL-8 at baseline. Omega-3 fatty acids including C20:5n3 and C18:3n3 were negatively associated with IFN-γ at 1 year. It is interesting to note that the cis and trans forms of C16:1n7 at 1 year were oppositely associated with the inflammatory markers. C16:1n7trans was negatively associated with IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-1b, whereas C16:1n7cis was positively associated with IL-1b. This study adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting potential differences in inflammatory or anti-inflammatory properties of fatty acids in blood cell membranes.Funded by Fundació La Marató de TV3 (201512.30.31.32). J.M. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 713679 and from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). C.P. is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship granted by the Autonomous Government of Catalonia (PERIS 2016–2020 Incorporació de Científics i Tecnòlegs, SLT002/0016/00428). A.S.-V. holds a Miguel Servet contract (CP12/03299, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain)