Absorption and Bioavailability of Major Monoterpenes in Mastiha Oil; a Kinetic Study in Humans.

Summary

Plant derived foods contain large quantities of non-nutrient phytochemicals that have been extensively studied for their beneficial health effects on the prevention of chronic diseases. Although research on their health effects is abundant, our knowledge on absorption and bioavailability is yet narrow and in some cases zero. The concept of bioavailability involves the identification of the fraction of administered compounds that can reach plasma and body tissues in an unchanged form. The bioactivity of components in foods that are part of our nutrition, either as parent foods or as food supplements, is directly related to bioavailability, the latter being a necessary step to prove efficacy.

Mastiha Oil (MO) is extracted from the resin of Pistacia Lentiscus var. Chia (of the Anacardiaceae family), a concentrated source of monoterpenes (e.g., α-pinene, β-pinene, β-myrcene) and triterpenes (e.g., mastihadienonic acid, isomastihadienonic acid), and to a lesser extent of plant sterols, simple phenols and approximately 10% MO (Assimopoulou, \& Papageorgiou, 2005, Paraschos et al, 2007, Kaliora, Mylona, Chiou, Petsios, \& Andrikopoulos, 2004). MO is a 100% natural product used as a food additive and flavoring and it is manufactured according to the legal standards that make it suitable for human consumption. Its nutritional analysis is presented in Supplementary Table 1. A total of 90 components have been detected in MO (50% monoterpene hydrocarbons, 20% oxygenated monoterpenes, 25% sesquiterpenes). Monoterpenes seem to exhibit beneficial health effects contributing to mechanisms of inflammation and oxidative stress (Subramaniyan, 2017; Madhuri, \& Naik, 2017).

Research upon the bioavailability of monoterpenes in humans is limited. Herein, we aimed at investigating the bioavailability of the main monoterpenes of MO in humans for the first time. To this end, a novel GC-MS-MS method was employed, since the tandem MS technique can help overcome matrix difficulties. Additionally, based on the existing data regarding the antioxidant activity of monoterpenes, the effect on human antioxidant capacity was evaluated applying the serum oxidisabilty assay.

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Conditions

• Absorption

Interventions

OTHER

Mastiha oil

After overnight fasting, the authorized study staff inserted a plastic cannula in an arm vein of the volunteers in order to minimize discomfort during consecutive blood sampling. A blood sample was collected on time point 0h and then the volunteers consumed 1mL of MO. The dose selection was based on the study of Papada et al. (2017) who administered healthy volunteers with 10g of Mastiha (containing \~10% MO). Afterwards blood samples were collected on time points 0.5h, 1h, 2h, 4h, 6h and 24h after MO intake, and were centrifuged at 3000rpm for 10 minutes at 4◦C for plasma and serum isolation. All samples were stored at -80◦C until further analysis.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Harokopio University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Andriana Kaliora, Ass. Professor · Harokopio University

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-02-01

Primary Completion

2020-02-24

Completion

2020-02-24

Countries

• Greece

Study Locations