MedWire News: Results from a small, exploratory study published in the journal Nutrition show that consumption of grape antioxidant dietary fiber supplement significantly improved participants' lipid profiles and blood pressure levels.

Grape antioxidant dietary fiber (GADF) is a natural product containing high levels of dietary fiber and flavanoids, both of which are believed to have cardiovascular health benefits.

Fulgencio Saura-Calixto and fellow investigators from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain recruited 43 non-smoking individuals aged 33.7 years on average to participate in their study. In total, 25 individuals were hypercholesterolemic (serum cholesterol of more than 200 mg/dl or 5.17 mmol/l) and 18 were not.

Participants were randomized to consume 7.5 g/d GADF (containing 5.25 g dietary fiber and 1400 mg polyphenols) in addition to their normal diet (n=34), or form part of a control group (n=9), for a period of 16 weeks.

The researchers took blood samples, blood pressure, and anthropometric measurements at baseline and at the end of the study at week 16.

Saura-Calixto and team found that GADF-supplemented, hypercholesterolemic individuals had significant reductions in triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol of 18.6%, 14.2%, and 11.6%, respectively. Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were also reduced on average by 6% and 5%, respectively.

In addition, the authors observed that the overall Framingham Risk Score of the supplemented group decreased by 2.5 points.

The investigators conclude: "The effects appeared to be greater than those caused by other dietary fibers, such as oat fiber or psyllium, probably due to the combined effect of dietary fiber and antioxidants."

To confirm their results Saura-Calixto and team suggest: "Further research on the relative contributions of fibers and flavonoids to prevent cardiovascular disease is needed."

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