Benefits of flavanol supplementation in reducing obesity-related inflammation
By dominguez // 2019-12-18
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Researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and The Ohio State University evaluated the preventive effects of grape seed and pine bark flavonol supplementation in the context of a high-fat diet. Their findings were published in the journal of Nutrition Research.
  • Weight gain and obesity are linked to increased levels of pro-inflammatory molecules inside the body.
  • According to studies, dietary flavanols can reduce the severity of metabolic conditions caused by a high-fat (HF) diet.
  • The degree of polymerization of flavanols is said to play a role in determining the extent of their protective effects.
  • To evaluate this, the researchers gave mice on a HF diet 35 milligrams per kilogram body weight (mg/kg) grape seed or pine bark daily for 13 weeks. They compared their body weights with those of mice fed a low-fat diet and control mice on a HF diet.
  • All the flavanol-supplemented groups and the HF control gained a significant amount of weight compared to the lean control, with the grape seed group gaining significantly more weight than the HF control. The researchers attributed this to hyperphagia.
  • Despite lack of improvements to weight gain and glycemic control, the researchers observed that all flavanol-treated groups had reduced interleukin-6 levels compared to HF control.
  • The grape seed group, which gained the most weight, also exhibited the lowest levels of interleukin-6.
  • Low-dose flavanol extract supplementation, regardless of mean degrees of polymerization, reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine production despite increased weight gain.
Based on these results, the researchers concluded that the obesity-independent effects of flavanol supplementation can be used as a complementary intervention to ameliorate increased inflammation in obese and diabetic patients. They also believe that flavanol-induced hyperphagia can help attenuate cachexia. Journal Reference: Griffin LE, Fausnacht DW, Tuzo JL, Addington AK, Racine KC, Zhang H, Hughes MD, England KM, Bruno RS, Okeefe SF, et al. FLAVANOL SUPPLEMENTATION PROTECTS AGAINST OBESITY-ASSOCIATED INCREASES IN SYSTEMIC INTERLEUKIN-6 LEVELS WITHOUT INHIBITING BODY MASS GAIN IN MICE FED A HIGH-FAT DIET. Nutrition Research. June 2019;66:32–47. DOI: 10.1016/j.nutres.2019.03.011
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