Natural Antioxidant Ice-cream Acutely Reduces Oxidative Stress, Improves Vascular Function and Physical Performance in Healthy Subjects

14 healthy, non-smoking, volunteers (7 males ), aged between 20 and 40 years were enrolled. The study was randomized, placebo-controlled. After enrollment, 3 days before entering the study, all subjects performed an exercise stress test. They were then randomly allocated to the treatment sequence with 100 mg of natural anti-oxidant ice cream or milk chocolate ice-cream (control icecream) in a cross-over single-blind design. There was 1 week wash-out between 2 phases of the study.

Markers of oxidative stress (D-ROMs and H2O2); serum antioxidant status (FRAP), NO bioavailability (NOx), the endothelium flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD and the RHI by Endopat 2000) were evaluated in fasting condition at baseline (time 0) and 2 hours after the ingestion of the anti-oxidant or control ice-creams. The exercise stress test was performed before randomization and 2 hours after each ice-cream meal test. In both experiments, the ice-cream was consumed within 10 min.

Each subject was asked to refrain from any kind of medication, diet integrators, intensive physical activity and to avoid consumption of polyphenols rich foods, such cocoa-containing products, red wine, tea within the previously 2 weeks. All participants gave written informed consent, and the study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of La Sapienza University of Rome (Rif: 3727, Prot: 2325/15).