February 17/Lausanne, Switzerland/Health & Medicine Week -- In the study "Nondairy Creamer, But Not Milk, Delays the Appearance of Coffee Phenolic Acid Equivalents in Human Plasma," researchers report new findings in life sciences. "Chlorogenic acids (CGA) are antioxidants found in coffee. They are becoming of interest for their health-promoting effects, but bioavailability in humans is not well understood," investigators in Lausanne, Switzerland, explain.

"We hypothesized that adding whole milk or sugar and nondairy creamer to instant coffee might modulate the bioavailability of coffee phenolics. Nine healthy participants were asked to randomly drink, in a crossover design, instant coffee (Coffee); instant coffee and 10% whole milk (Milk); or instant coffee, sugar, and nondairy creamer already premixed (Sugar/NDC). All three treatments provided the same amount of total CGA (332mg). Blood was collected for 12 hours after ingestion and plasma samples treated using a liquid-liquid extraction method that included a full enzymatic cleavage to hydrolyze all CGA and conjugates into phenolic acid equivalents. Hence, we focused our liquid chromatography-Electrospray ionization-tandem MS detection and quantification on caffeic acid (CA), ferulic acid (FA), and isoferulic acid (iFA) equivalents. Compared with a regular black instant coffee, the addition of milk did not significantly alter the area under the curve (AUC), maximum plasma concentration (C(max)), or the time needed to reach C(max) (T(max)). The C(max) of CA and iFA were significantly lower and the T(max) of FA and iFA significantly longer for the Sugar/NDC group than for the Coffee group. However, the AUC did not significantly differ," wrote M. Renouf and colleagues, Nestle Research Center.

The researchers concluded, "As a conclusion, adding whole milk did not alter the overall bioavailability of coffee phenolic acids, whereas sugar and nondairy creamer affected the T(max) and C(max) but not the appearance of coffee phenolics in plasma."

Renouf and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Nutrition ("Nondairy Creamer, But Not Milk, Delays the Appearance of Coffee Phenolic Acid Equivalents in Human Plasma." Journal of Nutrition, 2010;140(2):259-63).

For additional information, contact M. Renouf, Nestle Research Center, Vers chez Les Blancs, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland.

From the March 1, 2010, Prepared Foods E-dition