Consumo de jamón curado e incidencia de episodios cardiovasculares, hipertensión arterial o ganancia de peso

Inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase enzyme by dipeptides identified in dry-cured ham

High cholesterolemia is a key risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, which are the main cause of mortality in developed countries. Most therapies are focused on the modulation of its biosynthesis through 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoAR) inhibitors. In this sense, food-derived bioactive peptides might act as promising health alternatives through their ability to interact with crucial enzymes involved in metabolic pathways, avoiding the adverse effects of synthetic drugs. Dry-cured ham has been widely described as an important source of naturally-generated bioactive peptides exerting ACEI-inhibitory activity, antioxidant activity, and anti-inflammatory activity between others. Based on these findings, the aim of this work was to assess, for the first time, the in vitro inhibitory activity of HMG-CoAR exerted by dipeptides generated during the manufacturing of dry-cured ham, previously described with relevant roles on other bioactivities.

The in vitro inhibitory activity of the dipeptides was assessed by measuring the substrate consumption rate of the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase in their presence, with the following pertinent calculations.

Further research was carried out to estimate the possible interactions of the most bioactive dipeptides with the enzyme by performing in silico analysis consisting of molecular docking approaches.

Main findings showed DA, DD, EE, ES, and LL dipeptides as main HMG-CoAR inhibitors. Additionally, computational analysis indicated statin-like interactions of the dipeptides with HMG-CoAR.

This study reveals, for the first time, the hypocholesterolemic potential of dry-cured ham-derived dipeptides and, at the same time, converges in the same vein as many reports that experimentally argue the cardiovascular benefits of dry-cured ham consumption due to its bioactive peptide content.

Cured ham consumption and incidence of hypertension: The "Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra" (SUN) cohort

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Cured ham is one of the most characteristic foods in the Spanish diet. Because it is a red processed meat and due to its nutritional composition, including high sodium content, a potential association between cured ham consumption and a higher risk of hypertension could be expected. However, epidemiological studies evaluating this association are scarce. We prospectively assessed the association between cured ham consumption and the incidence of hypertension.

METHODS

The "Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra" (SUN) study is a cohort of Spanish middle-aged adult university graduates (average age: 38 (SD: 12) years, 60% women). We included 13,900 participants of the SUN cohort free of hypertension at baseline. One serving of cured ham is 50g. They were classified into 4 categories of cured ham consumption: <1; 1; 2-4 and ≥5servs/week. Multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models were fitted to assess the association between cured ham consumption and subsequent hypertension risk using the category of lowest consumption as the reference.

RESULTS

After a median follow-up of 10.9 years, 1465 incident self-reported cases of hypertension were identified. After adjusting for potential confounders, including dietary confounders, a high consumption of cured ham (≥5servs/week vs. <1serv/week) was not significantly associated with hypertension risk in this prospective cohort (HR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.70-1.10, p linear trend=0.40).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results showed that cured ham consumption was not associated with a significantly higher or lower risk of hypertension in a prospective cohort of Spanish middle-aged adult university graduates. Further longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to disentangle the association between cured ham consumption and the risk of hypertension.

Effect of moderate and regular consumption of Cinco Jotas acorn-fed 100% Iberian ham on overall cardiovascular risk: A cohort study

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact that the moderate and regular consumption of Cinco Jotas acorn-fed 100% Iberian ham has on overall cardiovascular risk, lipid parameters, blood pressure, and weight.

METHODS

A longitudinal, analytical, and quasi-experimental clinical study with repeated measures was carried out with 100 randomly selected individuals in primary care. The sample population included men and women (64%) between the ages of 25 and 55 (42.08, SD 9.6) who were not diagnosed with any cardiovascular illness or diabetes, were not undergoing antihypertensive treatment, nor taking lipid-lowering drugs. There were four visits during a 2-week washout period for the first of three phases. Phases 2 and 3 included an 8-week habitual diet phase followed by an 8-week intervention phase when participants consumed 40 g daily of acorn-fed 100% Cinco Jotas Iberian ham. Measurements of cardiovascular risk factors were taken following the SCORE table. These included total cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-c), triglycerides (TG), and weight.

RESULTS

The average vascular risk (SCORE) was 0.20 (SD 0.49) before the consumption phase and 0.18 (SD 0.48) at the end of the study (p > 0.05). An increase in HDL-c of 5 mg/dl was observed while there was a decrease in LDL-c and TG of 10 mg/dl (p < 0.05). There were no differences in total cholesterol levels, blood pressure, or weight; nor were differences observed in average consumption of calories, protein, lipids, carbohydrates, or alcohol (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The daily consumption of 40 g of Cinco Jotas acorn-fed 100% Iberian ham does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and has a favorable impact on lipid levels without affecting blood pressure or weight.

ACEI-Inhibitory Peptides Naturally Generated in Meat and Meat Products and Their Health Relevance

Meat and meat products have been described as a very good source of angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACEI)-inhibitory peptides. The generation of bioactive peptides can occur through the action of endogenous muscular enzymes during processing, gastrointestinal digestion, or by using commercial enzymes in laboratory or industry under controlled conditions. Studies of bioavailability are necessary in order to prove the positive health effect of bioactive peptides in the body as they should resist gastrointestinal digestion, cross the intestinal barrier, and reach blood stream and target organs. However, in order to better understand their effect, interactions, and bioavailability, it is necessary to consider food matrix interactions and continue the development of quantitative methodologies in order to obtain more data that will enable advances in the field of bioactive peptides and the determination of their influence on health.

Iberian Cured-Ham Consumption Improves Endothelial Function in Healthy Subjects

OBJECTIVES

Previous studies have shown that dietary components such as oleic acid or polyphenols exert beneficial effects on endothelium. We aimed to assess the impact of regular consumption of Iberian cured-ham (ICH) on endothelial function.

DESIGN

An open-label, randomized controlled parallel study.

SETTING

Volunteers recruited through advertisements at a hospital in Madrid, Spain.

PARTICIPANTS

102 Caucasian adults (76.8% females) aged 25-55 years, and free from cardiometabolic disease.

INTERVENTION

Participants were randomized to an ICH-enriched ad libitum diet or an ad libitum diet without ICH for 6 weeks. Subjects in ICH group were randomly provided with either acorn- or mixed-fed ICH, and followed up for an additional 6-week period under their usual diet.

MEASUREMENTS

Clinical parameters, biomarkers of endothelial function and oxidative stress, microvascular vasodilatory response to hyperemia and arterial stiffness were measured before and after the intervention.

RESULTS

After 6 weeks, a larger decrease in PAI-1 was observed in subjects consuming ICH compared to the Control group (-6.2±17.7 vs. 0.3±1.4 ng/ml; p=0.020). Similarly, microvascular vasodilatory response to hyperemia showed a significant increase (112.4±391.7 vs. -56.0±327.9%; p=0.007). However, neither oxidative stress, hemodynamic nor clinical parameters differed significantly over the study. Additionally, after stopping ICH consumption, improvements in PAI-1 remained for 6 additional weeks with respect to baseline (p=0.006).

CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrates, for the first time, that regular consumption of ICH improves endothelial function in healthy adults. Strategies aimed to preserve or improve the endothelial function may have implications in vascular aging beyond the prevention of the atherothrombotic disease.