Role of oxidative stress in the development of cardiovascular diseases is well known and extensively investigated, because of its direct effects on vascular function, but also on the activation of the immune response. Thus, food products that could increase the antioxidant capacity of the vascular system would also act protective against cardiovascular diseases. However, we lack systematic clinical and pre-clinical research with food products instead of food supplements, which would result in consistent and repeatable results. Many studies have proven the effectiveness of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) in improvement of endothelial function, improvement of elasticity of the vascular wall and the anti-inflammatory effects in patients with chronic diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, if they are taken as an pharmacological preparation. Our research group recently reported that favorable anti-inflammatory properties of n-3 PUFA enriched hen eggs potentially contribute to the improvement of microvascular endothelium-dependent vasodilation in healthy individuals. In addition, this study aimed to determine the effect of QUARTET® hen eggs (enriched in n-3 PUFA, selenium, vitamin E and lutein; QUARTET No. 012743696, 2014.) consumption on cardiovascular function in both healthy individuals and cardiovascular patients.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
100
Consumption of three QUARTET® hen eggs (enriched in n-3 PUFA, selenium, vitamin E and lutein) per day for three weeks
Consumption of three regular hen eggs per day for three weeks
Scientific Center of Excellence for Personalized Health Care, Josip Juraj Strossayer University of Osijek
Osijek, Croatia
Microvascular reactivity
Forearm skin microvascular reactivity in response to: vascular occlusion (post-occlusion reactive hyperemia, PORH); iontophoresis of acetylcholine (endothelium-dependent) and sodium nitroprusside (endothelium-independent); and local thermal hyperemia (LTH, NO-dependent vasodilation), measured by laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF)
Time frame: 3 weeks
Macrovascular reactivity - FMD of brachial artery
Flow mediated dilation (FMD) of brachial artery measured by ultrasound.
Time frame: 3 weeks
Macrovascular reactivity - TCD of cerebral blood vessels
Vascular reactivity of cerebral blood vessels measured by transcranial Doppler (TCD).
Time frame: 3 weeks
Oxidative stress - thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)
Measurement of biomarkers of oxidative stress level. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) - biomarker of lipid peroxidation.
Time frame: 3 weeks
Oxidative stress - ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP)
Measurement of biomarkers of oxidative stress level. Ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) - biomarker of plasma antioxidant capacity.
Time frame: 3 weeks
Oxidative stress - antioxidative enzymes
Measurement of biomarkers of oxidative stress level. Plasma concentration of antioxidative enzymes.
Time frame: 3 weeks
T helper lymphocyte differentiation
Regulatory T cells (Treg, Foxp3) and Th17 cells will be determined measuring intracellular expression for distinct Th17 markers by using FACS Canto II flow cytometer system.
Time frame: 3 weeks
Serum Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines, Chemokines, Growth Factors and Soluble Cell Adhesion Molecules Protein Concentration
Measurement of serum protein concentration (pg/mL) of various pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and soluble cell adhesion molecules by kits and panels for multiplex protein quantitation using the Luminex 200 instrument platform.
Time frame: 3 weeks
Endothelial cell activation
Measurement of serum protein concentration of cell adhesion molecules (e.g. intercellular adhesion molecule 1 - ICAM-1, vascular cell adhesion protein 1 - VCAM-1, and E-selectin) by commercially available ELISA kits, or by multiplex assay kits for the Luminex platform (Luminex® 100/200™ System).
Time frame: 3 weeks
Blood pressure
Measurement of systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Time frame: 3 weeks
Serum lipid profile
Total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol
Time frame: 3 weeks
Body composition
Body composition and body fluid status measurement by a four-terminal portable impedance analyzer. Based on the value of skin resistance (Ohm) empirically derived formulas (the original manufacturer's software) will be used to calculate the estimated Fat Free Mass (FFM kg) and Fat (Fat Mass kg).
Time frame: 3 weeks
Body fluid status
Body fluid status measurement by a four-terminal portable impedance analyzer. Based on the value of skin resistance (Ohm) empirically derived formulas (the original manufacturer's software) will be used to calculate the estimated Total Body Water (TBW L), Extracellular Water (ECW L), Intracellular Water (ICW L), Plasma Fluid (PF L) and Interstitial Fluid (IF L) and Body Density (kg/L).
Time frame: 3 weeks
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