Acute effects of coffee on endothelial function in healthy subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Coffee is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, but its effect on the cardiovascular system has not been fully understood. Coffee contains caffeine and antioxidants, which may influence endothelial function, both of which have not yet been investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the acute effects of coffee on endothelial function measured by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Subjects/Methods: A total of 20 (10 males and 10 females) healthy non-obese subjects underwent a double-blind, crossover study. Subjects ingested one cup of caffeinated (CC) and one cup of decaffeinated (DC) Italian espresso coffee in random order at 5-to 7-day intervals. Results: Following CC ingestion, FMD decreased progressively and significantly (mean±s.e.m.: 0 min, 7.7±0.6; 30 min, 6.3 ± 0.7; 60 min, 6.0 ± 0.8%; ANOVA (analysis of variance), Po0.05), but it did not significantly increase after DC ingestion (0 min, 6.9±0.6; 30 min, 8.1±0.9; 60 min, 8.5±0.9%; P ¼ 0.115). Similarly, CC significantly increased both systolic and diastolic blood pressure; this effect was not observed after DC ingestion. Blood glucose concentrations remained unchanged after ingestion of both CC and DC, but insulin (0 min, 15.8±0.9; 60 min, 15.0±0.8 mU/ml; Po0.05) and C-peptide (0 min, 1.25 ± 0.09; 60 min, 1.18 ± 0.09 ng/ml; Po0.01) blood concentrations decreased significantly only after CC ingestion. Conclusions: CC acutely induced unfavorable cardiovascular effects, especially on endothelial function. In the fasting state, insulin secretion is also likely reduced after CC ingestion. Future studies will determine whether CC has detrimental clinically relevant effects, especially in unhealthy subjects.

Coffee and endothelial function: a battle between caffeine and antioxidants?

“…Figure 1 summarizes our previously reported results regarding the effects of caffeinated (Buscemi et al, 2010) and decaffeinated (Buscemi et al, 2009) coffee on the brachial artery FMD with respect to the characteristics of the two tested espresso coffees.…”

“…This study indicates that both caffeinated and decaffeinated espresso coffee, which acutely influence FMD (Buscemi et al, 2009(Buscemi et al, , 2010, have significant anti-oxidant properties. This activity was approximately 15% higher in caffeinated coffee, probably because of a slight loss of antioxidant substances with decaffeinization procedures (Parras et al, 2007).…”

“…We recently demonstrated (Buscemi et al, 2010) that endothelial function in healthy subjects, measured using flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery, is significantly lower in the hour following the ingestion of 25 ml of espresso coffee. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased and, based on C-peptide serum concentrations, insulin secretion was likely reduced.…”

Coffee with a high content of chlorogenic acids and low content of hydroxyhydroquinone improves postprandial endothelial dysfunction in patients with borderline and stage 1 hypertension

“…Some studies have shown that acute administration of coffee has a harmful effect on endothelial function in healthy subjects [24,25], while other studies have shown that coffee improves endothelial function [26,27]. In addition, the association between coffee drinking and risk of cardiovascular disease remains inconclusive [15,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…However, there have been conflicting results regarding the association between coffee drinking and risk of cardiovascular disease [19][20][21][22][23]. The effect of coffee on endothelial function is also controversial [24][25][26][27]. One possible reason for the different results of studies is that the contents of chlorogenic acids, which are the most abundant antioxidants in coffee, may vary depending on several factors [16].…”