Strawberries decrease circulating levels of tumor necrosis factor and lipid peroxides in knee osteoarthritis in obese adults Arpita Basu 1 , Biji T. Kurien 2,3,4 , Huyen Tran 2 , Bre’Ana Byrd 2 , Joey Maher 2 , Jace Schell 5 , Emily Masek 1 , James R. Barrett 6 , Timothy J. Lyons 7 , Nancy Betts 5 , and R. Hal Scofield 2,3,4 1 Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA 2 Section of Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA 3 Arthritis and Clinical Immunology, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA 4 Medical Service, US Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA 5 Nutritional Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA 6 Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA 7 Division of Endocrinology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA Abstract Objective: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is increasingly prevalent in obese people, who often have high cardio-metabolic risk factors. Among the few available non-surgical approaches, nutraceuticals have gained popularity, and dietary berries have mitigated arthritis symptoms in observational and animal studies. Clinical studies in OA are sparse, but recently we reported that strawberry supplementation can mitigate pain and reduce inflammatory markers in adults with knee OA. This study extends those observations. Methods: We conducted a randomized cross-over double-blind placebo-controlled trial on the effects of dietary freeze-dried strawberries on obesity-related hormones, biomarkers of inflammation and lipid peroxidation. Seventeen subjects (4 men, 13 women; age 57±3y) were randomized to strawberry supplements (50g/day for 12 weeks) vs. placebo (50g/day, matched for calories and fiber), for two 12-wk intervention periods, separated by 2-wk washout phase. Results: Among 24 biomarkers of inflammation examined (Bioplex-Pro human inflammation panel), 12 were detectable in all samples. Among these, high-sensitivity TNF-α (hs-TNF-α) and the soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (sTNF-R2) were significantly decreased after strawberry consumption (p<0.05). There were no changes in other biomarkers of the TNF super family, such as APRIL and BAFF. Among serum biomarkers of oxidative stress, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) Corresponding author-Arpita Basu, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 S Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154, Phone: 702-895-4576, arpita.basu@unlv.edu. HHS Public Access Author manuscript Food Funct. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2019 December 13. Published in final edited form as: Food Funct. 2018 December 13; 9(12): 6218–6226. doi:10.1039/c8fo01194j. Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript