Cognitive short- and long-term effects of coffee cherry extract in older adults with mild cognitive decline.

There has been increasing interest in food- and dietary supplement-based materials that may support healthy cognition. However, few studies have quantitatively measured bioavailability, bioactivity, or cognitive short- and long-term effects of these materials against placebo. Earlier clinical studies reported ability of coffee cherry extract (CCE) to a.) reduce levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human blood and b.) to increase serum and exosomal levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neuroprotein essential for neurogenesis. Here, we examined CCE influence on cognitive performance. Seventy-one adults with mild cognitive decline completed this double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, 28-day regimen. Participants engaged in a cognitive challenge that involved working memory processes. Our results suggest that effects of CCE were notable during the first week and persisted throughout the study period. Specifically, participants on the CCE regimens had significant reductions in reaction time compared to placebo when comparing baseline to days 7 and 28 (p = 0.040, partial η2  = 0.130). A main effect of group was not identified for accuracy; however, strong trends were noted between the placebo group and two of the three CCE groups. These results suggest CCE, when taken in the morning or twice per day, is associated with improvements in reaction times and trends toward indications of improved accuracy. Although further research is required, these observations may be indicative of underlying processes such as increased processing speed, sustained attention, and/or focus.

Short-term efficacy of calcium fructoborate on subjects with knee discomfort: a comparative, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study.

Calcium fructoborate (CFB) at a dose of 110 mg twice per day was previously reported to improve knee discomfort during the first 14 days of treatment. In this study, 60 participants with self-reported knee discomfort were randomized into two groups receiving CFB or placebo. Initial levels of knee discomfort were evaluated by Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) and McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) scores at the beginning of the study and also at 7 and 14 days after treatment. Results showed that supplementation with CFB significantly improved knee discomfort in the study subjects; significant reductions of mean within-subject change in WOMAC and MPQ scores were observed for the CFB group compared to the placebo group at both 7 and 14 days after treatment. Estimated treatment differences for the MPQ score were -5.8 (P=0.0009) and -8.9 (P<0.0001) at Day 7 and 14, respectively. Estimated differences for the WOMAC score were -5.3 (P=0.06) and -13.73 (P<0.0001) at Day 7 and 14, respectively. Negative values indicate greater reductions in reported discomfort. On both Day 7 and Day 14, the trend was toward greater improvement in the CFB group. The placebo group did not exhibit any change in the WOMAC and MPQ scores. In conclusion, supplementation with 110 mg CFB twice per day was associated with improving knee discomfort during the 2 weeks of intake.

Modulatory effect of coffee fruit extract on plasma levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in healthy subjects.

The present single-dose study was performed to assess the effect of whole coffee fruit concentrate powder (WCFC), green coffee caffeine powder (N677), grape seed extract powder (N31) and green coffee bean extract powder (N625) on blood levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Randomly assorted groups of fasted subjects consumed a single, 100mg dose of each material. Plasma samples were collected at time zero (T0) and at 30 min intervals afterwards, up to 120 min. A total of two control groups were included: subjects treated with silica dioxide (as placebo) or with no treatment. The collected data revealed that treatments with N31 and N677 increased levels of plasma BDNF by about 31% under these experimental conditions, whereas treatment with WCFC increased it by 143% (n 10), compared with baseline. These results indicate that WCFC could be used for modulation of BDNF-dependent health conditions. However, larger clinical studies are needed to support this possibility.

The developmental transition to flowering in Arabidopsis is associated with an increase in leaf chloroplastic lipoxygenase activity.

The developmental transition from vegetative growth to flowering in Arabidopsis is associated with a precipitous decline in the activity of leaf ascorbate peroxidase (APx), an enzymatic scavenger of hydrogen peroxide, and an increase in specific lipid peroxidation leading to the accumulation of 13-hydroperoxy-9,11,15 (Z,E,Z) octadecatrienoic acid (13 HOO-FA). The appearance of this specific isomer suggests that it is of enzymatic origin and may represent the activation of an oxylipin signaling pathway. We thus hypothesized that leaf 13-lipoxygenase (LOX) activity increases at the floral transition and leads to the observed elevation of 13-HOO-FA levels. Leaf protein extracts were prepared from seven distinct life stages of Arabidopsis plants and used to assay for LOX activity. We report that leaf 13-LOX enzymatic activity increases two- to three-fold from the vegetative stage to the immediate post-floral transition stage. We found two forms of LOX activity in cell extracts and show that the higher pH optimum form is the isoenzyme activated. This increase is correlated with a small increase in H(2)O(2), perhaps resulting from the previously reported decline in leaf APx activity. Very low levels of exogenous H(2)O(2) activate the induced form in vegetative leaf extracts in vitro, suggesting that the floral transition-dependent APx decline and subsequent H(2)O(2) elevation are involved in activating plastid 13-LOX and thus a second messenger oxylipin pathway.