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This Article Free via Open Access: OA OA Full Text Full Text (PDF) OA All Versions of this Article: 91/5/1180    most recent ajcn.2009.28526v2 ajcn.2009.28526v1 Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Google Scholar Articles by Li, Z. Articles by Heber, D. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Li, Z. Articles by Heber, D. Agricola Articles by Li, Z. Articles by Heber, D.

Antioxidant-rich spice added to hamburger meat during cooking results in reduced meat, plasma, and urine malondialdehyde concentrations^1,2,3,4

¹ From the University of California Los Angeles Center for Human Nutrition Department of Medicine David Geffen School of Medicine University of California Los Angeles CA.

² Other than the preparation of the research-grade spice mixture, no one from McCormick and Company Inc had any role in the conduct of the study, analysis of the data, or preparation of the manuscript.

³ Supported by the University of California, Los Angeles General Clinical Research Center (National Institutes of Health grant RR-00865) and the Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.

⁴ Address correspondence to D Heber, University of California, Los Angeles Center for Human Nutrition, 900 Veteran Avenue, Room 12-217, Warren Hall, Box 951742, Los Angeles, CA 90095. E-mail: dheber{at}mednet.ucla.edu.

Background: Emerging science has shown the effect of oxidation products and inflammation on atherogenesis and carcinogenesis. Cooking hamburger meat can promote the formation of malondialdehyde that can be absorbed after ingestion.

Objective:We studied the effect of an antioxidant spice mixture on malondialdehyde formation while cooking hamburger meat and its effects on plasma and urinary malondialdehyde concentrations.

Design: Eleven healthy volunteers consumed 2 kinds of burgers in a randomized order: one burger was seasoned with a spice blend, and one burger was not seasoned with the spice blend. The production of malondialdehyde in burgers and malondialdehyde concentrations in plasma and urine after ingestion were measured by HPLC.

Results:Rosmarinic acid from oregano was monitored to assess the effect of cooking on spice antioxidant content. Forty percent (19 mg) of the added rosmarinic acid remained in the spiced burger (SB) after cooking. There was a 71% reduction in the malondialdehyde concentration (mean ± SD: 0.52 ± 0.02 µmol/250 g) in the meat of the SBs compared with the malondialdehyde concentration (1.79 ± 0.17 µmol/250 g) in the meat of the control burgers (CBs). The plasma malondialdehyde concentration increased significantly in the CB group as a change from baseline (P = 0.026). There was a significant time-trend difference (P = 0.013) between the 2 groups. Urinary malondialdehyde concentrations (µmol/g creatinine) decreased by 49% (P = 0.021) in subjects consuming the SBs compared with subjects consuming the CBs.

Conclusions: The overall effect of adding the spice mixture to hamburger meat before cooking was a reduction in malondialdehyde concentrations in the meat, plasma, and urine after ingestion. Therefore, cooking hamburgers with a polyphenol-rich spice mixture can significantly decrease the concentration of malondialdehyde, which suggests potential health benefits for atherogenesis and carcinogenesis. This trial was registered at clinical trials.gov as NCT01027052.