Four weeks of drinking 750 mL per day glass of cloudy apple juice providing 802.5 mg polyphenols were associated with a statistically significant 1% reduction in total body fat and a 1.25 kg increase in lean body mass.
In individuals with a certain genetic profile, the reductions in total body fat were as high as 2%, report researchers from the Max Rubner-Institut in Karlsruhe, and the Research Institute of Geisenheim in Germany.
“This is the first intervention study that addressed the question whether a polyphenol-rich cloudy apple juice shows bioactivity on obesity-associated biomarkers also including the potential role of genetic polymorphisms regarding a potential diet–gene interaction,” they wrote in the European Journal of Nutrition.
“Although cloudy apple juice compared to the control beverage failed to modulate plasma parameters related to the obesity phenotype, cloudy apple juice induced a significant reduction in the percent body fat in obese men.”
Study details
The German researchers recruited 68 obese non-diabetic men to participate in their controlled, randomized, parallel study. Participants were randomly assigned to received 750 mL per day of cloudy apple juice or a control beverage for four weeks.
Results showed that the men in the cloudy apple juice group displayed significant reductions in total body fat of 1%, compared with 0.2% in the control group.
In terms of specific genes, the researchers noted that the IL-6-174 G/C polymorphism showed a relationship with body fat reduction. Specifically, the C/C form was associated with a 2% reduction in total body fat after 4 weeks of cloudy apple juice intervention, but no effects were observed for the G/C or G/G variants.
“The mechanisms how apple polyphenols modulate body fat might include regulation of lipid metabolism, reduction in energy intake, and/or decrease in fat absorption as indicated by experimental data,” wrote the researchers.
Source: European Journal of Nutrition
Volume 51, Number 7, Pages 841-850, doi: 10.1007/s00394-011-0264-6
“Moderate effects of apple juice consumption on obesity-related markers in obese men: impact of diet–gene interaction on body fat content”
Authors: S.W. Barth, T.C.L. Koch, B. Watzl, H. Dietrich, F. Will, A. Bub