Crawley, Australia/University of Western Australia -- The efficacy of green coffee extract to impact on an independent risk factor for cardiovascular heart disease has been proven ineffective in mice models fed high-fat diets (HFD) a recent study has shown.

The risk factor, endothelial dysfunction (ED), has also been associated with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, both disorders increasing rapidly in Australia.

UWA School of Medicine & Pharmacology’s Natalie Ward says there is epidemiological evidence to suggest increased coffee consumption may be protective against cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors, particularly type 2 diabetes.

“This study was designed to investigate whether green coffee bean extract could protect against the development of the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of CVD risk factors, as well as study the mechanisms involved in this process,” Ward says.

Thirty C57BL6 mice were divided into three groups of 10 and fed a normal diet, a HFD, and HFD with 0.5% w/w green coffee bean extract (GCE).

The mice fed a HFD and HFD + GCE were found to display obesity, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance and oxidative stress, all symptoms of the metabolic syndrome.