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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #211877
Title: Almond consumption reduces oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation in male smokers

Author
item XUDONG, JIA - CHINESE CTR FOR DISEASE
item CHEN, CHUNG-YEN - TUFTS HNRCA
item Blumberg, Jeffrey
item NING, LI - CHINESE CTR FOR DISEASE

Submitted to: Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/7/2007
Publication Date: 4/2/2007
Citation: Xudong, J., Chen, C., Blumberg, J., Ning, L. 2007. Almond consumption reduces oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation in male smokers. Experimental Biology/The FASEB Journal. 21(5)1:p. A102.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Background: Smoking increases the risk of several chronic diseases associated with elevated oxidative stress status. Almonds are a good source of antioxidant nutrients and may diminish smoking-related biomarkers of oxidative stress. Objective: We investigated whether almond consumption decreases biomarkers of oxidative stress in young male smokers. Design: A randomized, crossover clinical trial with 60 healthy male soldiers (18-25 y) who were habitual smokers (5-20 cigarettes/d) and supplemented their diet with 84 g almonds or 120 g pork (to control for calories) daily for 4 wk with a 4-wk washout period between treatment periods. In addition, 30 healthy nonsmoking men were provided the same daily serving of pork to serve as reference comparison. Blood and urine were collected and assessed for biomarkers of oxidative stress. Results: Baseline values of urinary 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and peripheral lymphocyte DNA strand breaks were 185, 64, and 97% higher in smokers than nonsmokers while activities of plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and catalase were 15, 10, and 9% lower, respectively. After the almond intervention, alpha-tocopherol, SOD, and GPX were increased significantly in smokers by 10, 35, and 16%, respectively; and 8-OHdG, MDA, and DNA strand breaks were decreased significantly by 28, 34, and 23%. In smokers, after almond supplementation, the concentration of 8-OHdG, MDA, and DNA strand breaks remained greater than in nonsmokers by 98, 32, and 23%, respectively.Conclusions: These results suggest almond intake can enhance antioxidant defenses and diminish biomarkers of oxidative stress in smokers.