Our observations suggest that green tea extract supplements retain the beneficial effects of green and black tea and may be used in future chemoprevention studies to provide a large dose of tea polyphenols without the side effects of caffeine associated with green and black tea beverages.

Pistachios can be consumed as a portion-controlled snack for individuals restricting calories to lose weight without concern that pistachios will cause weight gain. By comparison to refined carbohydrate snacks such as pretzels, pistachios may have beneficial effects on triglycerides as well.

This study was conducted to determine the tolerance and effects of the prebiotic xylooligosaccharide (XOS) on the composition of human colonic microbiota, pH and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) in order to determine whether significant changes in the microbiota would be achievable without side effects. Healthy adult subjects (n = 32) were recruited in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Subjects received 1.4 g XOS, 2.8 g XOS or placebo in daily doses. The study consisted of a 2 week run-in, an 8 week intervention, and a 2 week washout phase. Stool samples were collected at baseline, after 4 and 8 weeks of intervention and 2 weeks after cessation of intervention. Samples were subjected to culture, pyrosequencing of community DNA, pH and SCFA analyses. Tolerance was evaluated by daily symptom charts. XOS was tolerated without significant gastrointestinal side effects. Bifidobacterium counts increased in both XOS groups compared to the placebo subjects, the 2.8 g per day group showed significantly greater increases than the 1.4 g per day group. Total anaerobic counts and Bacteroides fragilis group counts were significantly higher in the 2.8 g per day XOS group. There were no significant differences in the counts of Lactobacillus, Enterobacteriaceae and Clostridium between the three groups. XOS intervention had no significant effect on stool pH, SCFA or lactic acid. Pyrosequencing showed no notable shifts in bacterial diversity. XOS supplementation may be beneficial to gastrointestinal microbiota and 2.8 g per day may be more effective than 1.4 g per day. The low dose required and lack of gastrointestinal side effects makes the use of XOS as a food supplement feasible.

Background: Achieving significant weight loss and glycemic control in diabetic patients remains a challenging task. Objective: This study compared the effects of a soy-based meal replacement (MR) plan vs an individualized diet plan (IDP; as recommended by the American Diabetes Association) on weight loss and metabolic profile. Design/Subjects: A total of 104 subjects were randomized prospectively to the two treatments for a total of 12 months. Results: In all, 77 of the 104 subjects completed the study. Percentage weight loss in MR group (4.5770.81%) was significantly greater (Po0.05) than in IDP group (2.2570.72%). Fasting plasma glucose was significantly reduced in MR group (126.474.9 mg/dl) compared with IDP group (152.576.6 mg/dl, Po0.0001) at 6 months but not at 12 months. Controlling for baseline levels, hemoglobin Alc level improved by 0.4970.22% for those receiving MR when compared to IDP group (Po0.05). A greater number of subjects in MR group reduced their use of sulfonylureas (Po0.0001) and metformin (Po0.05) as compared to IDP group. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) decreased À26.3% (P ¼ 0.019) in MR group compared to À7.06% (P ¼ 0.338) in IDP group at 6 months. Similar changes were observed at 12 months with MR groups, with hs-CRP decreasing by À25.0% (P ¼ 0.019) compared to À18.7% (P ¼ 0.179) in IDP group. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that MR is a viable strategy for weight reduction in diabetic patients, resulting in beneficial changes in measures of glycemic control and reduction of medications.

Pomegranate juice (PJ), a rich source of polyphenols including ellagitannins, has attracted much attention due to its reported health benefits. This has resulted in the consumption of liquid and powder pomegranate extracts as alternatives to PJ. Therefore establishing the bioavailability of polyphenols from these extract preparations is necessary. Sixteen healthy volunteers sequentially consumed, with a 1-week washout period between treatments, PJ (8 ounces, Wonderful fruit variety), a pomegranate polyphenol liquid extract (POMxl, 8 ounces), and a pomegranate polyphenol powder extract (POMxp, 1,000 mg). The three interventions provided 857, 776, and 755 mg of polyphenols as gallic acid equivalents, respectively. Plasma bioavailability, judged based on ellagic acid levels over a 6-hour period, did not show statistical differences in area under the curve for the three interventions: 0.14 +/- 0.05, 0.11 +/- 0.03, and 0.11 +/- 0.04 micromol . hour/L for PJ, POMxl, and POMxp, respectively. The time of maximum concentration was delayed for POMxp (2.58 +/- 0.42 hours) compared to PJ (0.65 +/- 0.23 hours) and POMxl (0.94 +/- 0.06 hours). Urolithin-A glucuronide, a urinary metabolite of ellagic acid, was not significantly different with the three interventions, reaching levels of approximately 1,000 ng/mL. This study demonstrates that ellagitannin metabolites, delivered from pomegranate fruits, as PJ, POMxl, and POMxp, reach equivalent levels with a delay in time of maximum concentration of POMxp compared to PJ and POMxl.