Chlorogenic Acids In Green Coffee Beans Help Control Blood Sugar Levels

Chlorogenic Acids In Green Coffee Beans Help Control Blood Sugar Levels

Chlorogenic acids, natural substances extracted from unroasted coffee beans, can help control the elevated blood sugar levels and body weight that underpin type 2 diabetes.

Joe Vinson, Ph.D. at the University of Scranton, who led the research, noted at the American Chemical Society
presentation that type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, is an increasing global health problem. In the United States alone, almost 26 million have the disease, in which the pancreas does not produce enough of the insulin that enables the body to use sugar, or cells resist the effects of that insulin.

Blood sugar levels rise, increasing the risk of heart attacks, stroke and other health problems. Current treatments focus on oral medications that stimulate insulin secretions and/or reduce insulin resistance, dietary changes that control blood sugar levels and weight loss that reduces insulin resistance.

"A simple natural pill or capsule that would both help control blood sugar and foster weight loss at the same time would be a major advance in the treatment of type 2 diabetes," Vinson said. "Our own research and studies published by other scientists suggest that such a treatment may, indeed, exist. There is significant epidemiological and other evidence that coffee consumption reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.

"One large study indicated a 50 percent risk reduction for people who drank seven cups of coffee a day compared to those who drank only two cups a day. I am trying to make the coffee and diabetes story as clear as possible for the public. The evidence points to chlorogenic acids as the active ingredients in coffee that both prevent diabetes and improve glucose control in normal, pre-diabetic and diabetic people."

Chlorogenic acids are a family of substances that occur naturally in apples, cherries, plums, dried plums and other fruits and vegetables. Chlorogenic acids and are widely available as a dietary supplement. Vinson pointed out that coffee ― due to its popularity as a beverage ― is a major dietary source of these substances. Large amounts of chlorogenic acids exist in green, or unroasted, coffee beans but the high temperatures used to roast coffee beans to make them suitable for use in coffee breaks down much of the chlorogenic acids. Thus, the focus has been on using concentrated extracts of green coffee beans, which contain higher amounts of chlorogenic acids.

In a previous study, Vinson found that overweight or obese people who took such an extract lost about 10 percent of their body weight in 22 weeks. The new study sought to document the effects of various doses of a commercial green coffee extract on the blood sugar levels of 56 men and women with normal blood sugar levels. They got a glucose tolerance test to see how their bodies responded to the sugar. Then over a period of time, they took 100, 200, 300 or 400 milligrams (mg) of the extract in a capsule with water. Follow-up glucose tolerance tests showed how the green coffee extract affected their responses.

"There was a significant dose-response effect of the green coffee extract and no apparent gastrointestinal side effects," Vinson said. "All doses of green coffee extract produced a significant reduction in blood sugar relative to the original blank glucose challenge. The maximum blood glucose occurred at 30 minutes and was 24 percent lower than the original with the 400 mg of green coffee extract and the blood glucose at 120 minutes was 31 percent lower."

http://www.science20.com/news_articles/chlorogenic_acids_green_coffee_beans_help_control_blood_sugar_levels-108754

Complete review;

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/801457/

Roles of Chlorogenic Acid on Regulating Glucose and Lipids Metabolism

Abstract

Intracellular glucose and lipid metabolic homeostasis is vital for maintaining basic life activities of a cell or an organism. Glucose and lipid metabolic disorders are closely related with the occurrence and progression of diabetes, obesity, hepatic steatosis, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Chlorogenic acid (CGA), one of the most abundant polyphenol compounds in the human diet, is a group of phenolic secondary metabolites produced by certain plant species and is an important component of coffee. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that CGA exerts many biological properties, including antibacterial, antioxidant, and anticarcinogenic activities. Recently, the roles and applications of CGA, particularly in relation to glucose and lipid metabolism, have been highlighted. This review addresses current studies investigating the roles of CGA in glucose and lipid metabolism.
1. Introduction

Intracellular glucose and lipid metabolic homeostasis is very vital for maintaining the basic life activities of a cell or an organism. In terms of cytology, intracellular glucose and lipid metabolic disorders are the basis of a variety of metabolic diseases. Glucose and lipid metabolic disorders are closely related with the occurrence and progression of diabetes, obesity, hepatic steatosis, cardiovascular disease, and cancer [1]. The complications of glucose and lipid metabolic disorders will impose a significant burden on health care systems all over the world. However, medical therapeutic options are not only limited, but also associated with unwanted side effects [2–4]. Therapies with novel mechanisms of action to combat glucose and lipid metabolic disorders would therefore have significant medical and economic impacts.

Chlorogenic acid (CGA) (Figure 1), one of the most abundant polyphenol compounds in the human diet, is a group of phenolic secondary metabolites produced by certain plant species and an important component of coffee. It has been reported that coffee had the highest concentration of polyphenols among the beverages analyzed [5, 6]. The major polyphenol in coffee is CGA. Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is an ester formed from cinnamic acids and quinic acid and is also known as 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA) (IUPAC numbering) or 3-CQA (pre-IUPAC numbering) [7]. The most common form of CGA is 5-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA) (Figure 2). Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that CGA exhibits many biological properties, including antibacterial, antioxidant, and anticarcinogenic activities, particularly hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects [8–14]. CGA has been recently claimed to modulate glucose and lipid metabolism in vivo in both healthy and genetically metabolic disordered conditions [14–16].

Recently, the roles and the applications of CGA, particularly in relation to glucose and lipid metabolism, have been highlighted in both biological and medical fields [17–21]. It will possibly, we think, become a research focus or a trend of medicine and pharmacology in the near future. A review of the roles and applications of CGA in glucose and lipid metabolism is consequently urgent and vital to assist in further research.

Antihypertensive effects and mechanisms of chlorogenic acids

Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) are potent antioxidants found in certain foods and drinks, most notably in coffee. In recent years, basic and clinical investigations have implied that the consumption of chlorogenic acid can have an anti-hypertension effect. Mechanistically, the metabolites of CGAs attenuate oxidative stress (reactive oxygen species), which leads to the benefit of blood-pressure reduction through improved endothelial function and nitric oxide bioavailability in the arterial vasculature. This review article highlights the physiological and biochemical findings on this subject and highlights some remaining issues that merit further scientific and clinical exploration. In the framework of lifestyle modification for the management of cardiovascular risk factors, the dietary consumption of CGAs may hold promise for providing a non-pharmacological approach for the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure.

http://www.nature.com/hr/journal/v35/n4/full/hr2011195a.html