Effects of dietary almond- and olive oil-based docosahexaenoic acid- and vitamin E-enriched beverage supplementation on athletic performance and oxidative stress markers

Abstract

Functional beverages based on almonds and olive oil and enriched with α-tocopherol and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) could be useful in modulating oxidative stress and enhancing physical performance in sportsmen. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of supplementation with functional beverages on physical performance, plasma and erythrocyte fatty acids' and polyphenol handling, oxidative and nitrative damage, and antioxidant and mitochondrial gene expression in young and senior athletes. Athletes performed maximal exercise tests before and after one month of dietary supplementation and blood samples were taken immediately before and one hour after each test. The beverages did not alter performance parameters during maximal exercise. Supplementation increased polyunsaturated and reduced saturated plasma fatty acids while increasing the DHA erythrocyte content; it maintained basal plasma and blood polyphenol levels, but increased the blood cell polyphenol concentration in senior athletes. Supplementation protects against oxidative damage although it enhances nitrative damage in young athletes. The beverages enhance the gene expression of antioxidant enzymes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells after exercise in young athletes.

Effect of Free Fatty Acids on Inflammatory Gene Expression and Hydrogen Peroxide Production by Ex Vivo Blood Mononuclear Cells

“…The incubation ex vivo of PBMCs with oleic, α-linolenic, arachidonic acids, or DHA resulted in different responses, depending on the FA and the gene. Similar regulation by dietary omega-3 FAs in the expression of PBMC genes involved in fatty acid oxidation [21,30], antioxidant genes [31], and inflammatory status [32] have been described in human nutritional studies. In addition, omega-3 FAs can reverse low-grade inflammation in obesity by increasing the synthesis of pro-resolving mediators, such as resolvins, and decreasing proinflammatory mediators [33].…”

“…LPS stimulation of PBMCs induces ROS production [54], which, in turn, is involved in TLR-associated activation of NFκB [55]. Dietary supplementation with FAs protects against oxidative damage [31] and enhances antioxidant gene expression in PBMCs induced by acute exercise [31]. FAs could alter the oxidative balance of PBMCs and their immunomodulatory function.…”

Erythrocytes and Skeletal Muscle Unsaturated and Omega-6 Fatty Acids Are Positively Correlated after Caloric Restriction and Exercise

“…Muscle and erythrocyte FAs composition patterns change with the age. Age is a factor that alters the FAs composition of plasma and erythrocytes between young and senior athletes (22.3 ± 3.8 and 45.6 ± 1.6 years respectively) [9, 10]. Young children have more PUFAs than adults in muscle and erythrocytes [17].…”

“…The fatty acid (FA) composition of the diet is known to influence the FAs composition of stored and structural lipids in different body parts, such as serum/plasma lipids [5-10], erythrocyte membranes [7, 9-11], buccal epithelial cells [12], adipose tissue [13, 14], skeletal muscle [15-19] and immune cells [20]. Dietary FAs influence FAs incorporation into the cell membranes modulating their cellular functions [21-25].…”

Fatty acid bioaccessibility and structural breakdown fromin vitrodigestion of almond particles

“…Fatty acids were extracted from liquid digesta using the Folch method, a standard method for extraction of total lipids from foods and digesta. [45][46][47] Briefly, 0.5 mL of homogenized digesta was combined with 2 mL of a 2 : 1 chloroform : methanol (v/v) solution containing triheptadecanoin internal standard (Nu-Chek Inc., Elysian MN). The mixture was vortexed and then centrifuged at 458g for 10 min (Allegra 6 centrifuge with GH-3.8A rotor, Beckman Coulter, Palo Alto CA).…”