effects of anthocyanin on skin health and markers of cardiovascular disease risk

Conditions: Cardiovascular Disease; Skin Health; Postmenopause

Summary: the purpose of this study is to determine whether short-term exposure to a compound found in some fruits and vegetables (anthocyanin), is effective in improving skin health and reducing the levels of various markers of cardiovascular disease risk. a range of skin health parameters are being studied and volunteers are also providing skin biopsy, urine and blood samples. 62 postmenopausal women have been recruited for this study.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * female * upper age limit of 70 years * minimum of 1 year since last menstruation * not taking hormone replacement therapy (hrt), and not having taken hrt for a minimum of 6 months prior to commencement * having no significant past or present medical history of: inflammatory conditions (including eczema, asthma, hay fever, ibs, crohn's disease and arthritis), diabetes, hepatic, renal, cardiac, pulmonary, digestive, haematological, neurological, thyroidal or psychiatric disease. * agreeing to restrict dietary intake of anthocyanin containing foodstuffs and also other foodstuffs considered to be cardio-protective i.e. red wine, total alcohol, oily fish, dark chocolate, tea and coffee. * agreeing to maintain existing cosmetic and beauty regime, and avoid 'tanning' (either naturally or synthetically) of the specific sites of skin function measurement during the study. * bmi 20-32 kg/m2 * successful biochemical, haematological and urinalysis assessment exclusion criteria: * allergy / sensitivity to local anaesthetic i.e. xylocaïne * regular use of aspirin, or other anti-inflammatory pain relief medication, as prescribed by a doctor. \[if subjects are regular self prescribed aspirin users and are willing to give up aspirin 2 months prior to the study and for the duration of the study they can be included.\] * taking other counter indicative medication e.g. steroidal medication during the trial, or within 1 month of the trial beginning. * taking food / dietary supplements e.g. vitamins, minerals, fish oils, plant oils, isoflavones, soy products, carotenoids during the trial (unless prepared to cease intake during, and 1 month preceding the trial). * those on therapeutic diets or following weight-loss diet. * current smoker, or smoker in the past year * having vaccinations or antibiotics within 3 months of start of trial, and those with vaccinations scheduled for during the trial * parallel participation in another research project which involves dietary intervention and/or sampling of biological fluids/material * participation in another research project within the last four months unless the total amount of combined blood from both studies will not exceed 470ml. * those intending to travel during the study to locations where a change in skin colour may be anticipated * subjects intending to deliberately "sunbathe", use tanning solariums or tanning creams on body sites used for assessment. * assessed from the clinical screening * abnormal renal function (na \>145mmol/l, k \>5.0mmol/l, urea \>7.1mmol/l, albumin \>50g/l, creatinine \>125μmol/l, total bilirubin \>22μmol/l), or liver function (alp \>126 iu/l, alt \>50 iu/l), lipid profile (total cholesterol \> 6.5 mmol/l, tag \>3.0 mmol/l, hdl\>2.0 mmol/l), anaemia (haemoglobin \ 6.1 mmol/l) or measurements considered to be counter indicative of the trial outcome measures. * untreated hypertension (\>160/90mmhg) or hypotension (90/50mmhg or 95/50mmhg if symptomatic) * bmi \ 32.5

Keywords: cardiovascular disease cvd skin health postmenopausal women anthocyanin inflammation