Daily Intake of a Commercially Available Vegetable Juice Has Beneficial Effects on Metabolic Syndrome-Related Biomarkers in Young, Healthy Japanese Adults

Adequate vegetable intake is important in reducing the risk of lifestyle-related diseases;however, intake amongst young Japanese adults is poor. This study aimed to assess the effect of daily intake of a commercially available vegetable juice on nutritional status and metabolic syndrome-related markers in healthy young adults. Fifty-one healthy adults (14 men, 37 women), age 20 - 22 years were recruited, and their food and nutritional intake was surveyed using an FFQ based on Food Groups. Subjects were divided into either a control group, who were not administered vegetable juice, or an intervention group, who consumed 200 mL vegetable juice daily for 2 months. Anthropometric data, serum carotenoid concentrations, blood and urinary parameters were measured at baseline and at 2 months. The average intake of vegetables in all subjects at baseline was approximately 140 g/day, less than half the dose recommended by the Japanese government. Total serum carotenoid concentration in the intervention group doubled from baseline after 2 months. In particular, serum concentrations of α-carotene, β-carotene, and lycopene were increased. In the intervention group, 24-hour urinary potassium excretion increased significantly, and 24-hour urinary sodium to potassium ratio decreased significantly. Waist circumference and systolic blood pressure also decreased significantly. Daily intake of a commercial vegetable juice for 2 months improved nutritional status in young adults with inadequate vegetable intake, shown by improved serum carotenoid and urine potassium levels. In addition, intake of vegetable juice may be beneficial in reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome.

Broccoli sprout extract induces detoxification-related gene expression and attenuates acute liver injury

AIM: To investigate the effects of broccoli sprout extract(BSEx) on liver gene expression and acute liver injury in the rat.METHODS: First, the effects of BSEx on liver gene expression were examined. Male rats were divided into two groups. The Control group was fed the AIN-76 diet, and the BSEx group was fed the AIN-76 diet containing BSEx. After a 10-d feeding period, rats were sacrificed and their livers were used for DNA microarray and realtime reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) analyses. Next, the effects of BSEx on acute liver injury were examined. In experiments using acute liver injury models, 1000 mg/kg acetaminophen(APAP) or 350 mg/kg D-galactosamine(D-Gal N) was used to induce injury. These male rats were divided into four groups: Control, BSEx, Inducer(APAP or D-Gal N), and Inducer+BSEx. The feeding regimens were identical for the two analyses. Twenty-four hours following APAP administration via p.o. or D-Gal N administration via i.p., rats were sacrificed to determine serum aspartate transaminase(AST) and alanine transaminase(ALT) levels, hepatic glutathione(GSH) and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances accumulation and glutathioneS-transferase(GST) activity. RESULTS: Microarray and real-time RT-PCR analyses revealed that BSEx upregulated the expression of genes related to detoxification and glutathione synthesis in normal rat liver. The levels of AST(70.91 ± 15.74 IU/m L vs 5614.41 ± 1997.83 IU/m L, P < 0.05) and ALT(11.78 ± 2.08 IU/m L vs 1297.71 ± 447.33 IU/m L, P < 0.05) were significantly suppressed in the APAP + BSEx group compared with the APAP group. The level of GSH(2.61 ± 0.75 nmol/g tissue vs 1.66 ± 0.59 nmol/g tissue, P < 0.05) and liver GST activity(93.19 ± 16.55 U/g tissue vs 51.90 ± 16.85 U/g tissue, P < 0.05) were significantly increased in the APAP + BSEx group compared with the APAP group. AST(4820.05 ± 3094.93 IU/m L vs 12465.63 ± 3223.97 IU/m L, P < 0.05) and ALT(1808.95 ± 1014.04 IU/m L vs 3936.46 ± 777.52 IU/m L, P < 0.05) levels were significantly suppressed in the D-Gal N + BSEx group compared with the D-Gal N group, but the levels of AST and ALT in the D-Gal N + BSEx group were higher than those in the APAP + BSEx group. The level of GST activity was significantly increased in the D-Gal N + BSEx group compared with the D-Gal N group(98.04 ± 15.75 U/g tissue vs 53.15 ± 8.14 U/g tissue, P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that BSEx protected the liver from various types of xenobiotic substances through induction of detoxification enzymes and glutathione synthesis.