Drinking Orange Juice Daily May Fine-tune Genes Tied To Cardiovascular Wellness

Trending 7 hours ago

A regular solid of orangish juice whitethorn do much than refresh; it tin fine-tune thousands of genes tied to humor unit and metabolism, pinch nan benefits varying depending connected your assemblage weight.

 Sunlight_s / Shutterstock

Study: A Global Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Body Weight-Specific Molecular Responses to Chronic Orange Juice Consumption successful Healthy Individuals. Image Credit: Sunlight_s / Shutterstock

In a caller study published successful nan journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, a group of researchers investigated really chronic orangish juice (OJ) intake affects nan transcriptomes of peripheral humor mononuclear cells (PBMCs) successful patient adults, and whether responses alteration by assemblage wide scale (BMI) status. This was a single-arm pre–post involution without a power beverage; findings show transcriptomic associations and do not found causality. Fold-change ranges for individual genes were reported successful supplementary information but were not emphasized successful nan main text.

Nutrigenomic Potential of Citrus Flavanones

What if a meal staple could softly tune nan genes that steer humor pressure, lipids, and inflammation? Citrus fruits, particularly OJ, proviso flavanones specified arsenic hesperidin and naringenin that whitethorn power vascular tone, lipid handling, and immune signaling. Yet, astir group inquire whether a regular solid genuinely alters biology successful ways that matter, and whether assemblage weight affects nan response.

Mapping cistron activity successful circulating immune cells tin nexus a room wont to outcomes families attraction about, though nan mechanistic insubstantial did not recently measure objective endpoints; anterior publications from nan aforesaid cohort reported reductions successful humor unit and body-fat percent pinch 500 mL/day OJ complete 60 days.

Participant Profile and Study Design

Healthy adults (n = 20; 10 men, 10 women; 21–36 years) without chronic illness consumed 500 mL/day of pasteurized OJ for 60 days, divided into 2 location doses, aft a three-day citrus-free washout; participants besides avoided citrus foods during nan intervention.

Fasting humor was drawn astatine baseline (T0) and time 60 (T60). PBMCs were isolated and full ribonucleic acerb (RNA) extracted. Global transcriptomes were profiled connected Clariom D microarrays; differentially expressed features were defined astatine mendacious find rate-adjusted p < 0.05.

Multi-Omics and Computational Analyses

Pathway enrichment was performed utilizing GeneTrail pinch nan Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), WikiPathways, and BioCarta; protein-protein relationship networks were analyzed utilizing nan Search Tool for nan Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING).

Predicted transcription factors were identified pinch Enrichr. MicroRNA (miRNA) targets were derived via Mienturnet/miRTarBase; agelong non-coding RNA (lncRNA) targets via LncRRIsearch; mini nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) changes were besides cataloged. Disease associations employed nan Comparative Toxicogenomics Database.

Molecular Docking of Flavanone Metabolites

In silico molecular docking (SwissDock) tested Phase II flavanone metabolites (for example, hesperetin- and naringenin-glucuronides/sulfates) and gut-derived catabolites against campaigner transcription factors including atomic facet kappa B (NF-κB) subunit 1, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARA), activating transcription facet 4 (ATF4), plasminogen activator, urokinase (PLAU), proto-oncogene (MYC), atomic respiratory facet 1 (NRF1), Yin-Yang 1 (YY1), E26 transformation-specific (ETS) transcription facet ELK4 (ELK4), RELA (p65 subunit of NF-κB), retinoid X receptor alpha (RXRA), interferon regulatory facet 9 (IRF9), and tumor macromolecule 53 (TP53). Subgroup analyses were conducted to opposition normal-weight (NW) and overweight (OW) participants by BMI.

Transcriptomic Remodeling After Orange Juice Intake

Chronic OJ intake remodeled nan PBMC transcriptome: 3,790 oligonucleotides changed, including 1,705 protein-coding genes (mostly downregulated), 66 miRNAs, 19 lncRNAs, and 67 snoRNAs. Principal components, partial slightest squares–discriminant study (PLS-DA), and clustering analyses successfully separated T60 from T0, indicating a accordant involution signal.

Enriched pathways mapped to humor unit power (aldosterone synthesis/secretion, renin secretion, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-related signaling), lipid metabolism (thermogenesis, adipogenesis, mitochondrial fatty-acid β-oxidation), inflammation (toll-like receptor, tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-17 (IL17)), compartment adhesion (focal adhesion, actin cytoskeleton), and awesome signaling axes (mitogen-activated macromolecule kinase (MAPK), vascular endothelial maturation facet receptor 2 (VEGFR2), phosphoinositide 3-kinase-Akt (PI3K-Akt), epidermal maturation facet (EGF) receptor, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), insulin, and precocious glycation extremity product–receptor for precocious glycation extremity products). Additional enrichment included AHR signaling and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) macromolecule processing.

Protein-protein relationship hubs included serine/threonine kinase AKT1, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), catenin beta-1 (CTNNB1), heat-shock macromolecule 90 alpha (HSP90AA1), and eukaryotic elongation facet 2 (EEF2).

Gene-Level and Non-Coding RNA Modulation

Cardiometabolic relevance emerged astatine nan cistron level. Blood-pressure-linked genes nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) and NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) were downregulated, alongside atomic receptor subfamily 4 group A personnel 2 (NR4A2), play circadian regulator 1 (PER1), salt-inducible kinase 1 (SIK1), G protein-coupled receptor 183 (GPR183), and serum/glucocorticoid regulated kinase 1 (SGK1), aligning pinch mechanisms that favour little humor pressure.

Inflammatory mediators decreased: IL1B, IL6, prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2/COX-2), and regulator of G-protein signaling 1 (RGS1), accordant pinch dampened NF-κB activity and reduced cytokine tone.

Lipid/adipocyte programs besides shifted: genes specified arsenic Kruppel-like facet 4 (KLF4), receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1), perilipin-2 (PLIN2), and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8) moved toward a floor plan linked to amended metabolic control.

Non-coding layers mirrored these trends. Among 66 altered miRNAs, weight-loss-associated type (for example, miR-548 family, miR-1185-1) rose, while inflammation-associated miR-640 and miR-1248 declined; miR-1305 increased, a alteration reported pinch anti-inflammatory effects.

19 lncRNAs changed, including downregulation of mini nucleolar RNA big cistron 16 (SNHG16) and upregulation of apoptosis-associated transcript successful bladder crab (AATBC), a quality adipocyte plasticity regulator. 67 snoRNAs shifted, 61 of which were downregulated, including reduced RPL13A cluster members (SNORD U32/U33/U34/U35), a shape tied to little oxidative accent and inflammation.

Fold-change magnitudes for these RNA classes varied crossed transcripts, typically wrong a −1.5 to −8.0 scope for downregulated features and +1.5 to +5.0 for upregulated ones, according to supplemental data. Disease-mapping linked nan signature to bosom and vascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and glucose-metabolism disorders, underscoring objective relevance.

BMI-Specific Transcriptomic Differences

Overweight participants exhibited a unsocial modulation of lipid metabolism and adipogenesis pathways, characterized by chopped regularisation of glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3B), G protein-coupled receptor kinase 6 (GRK6), and miRNAs, including miR-548i and miR-1292-3p. Normal-weight participants exhibited unsocial modulation of inflammatory pathways, characterized by changes successful awesome transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), solute bearer family 16 personnel 6 (SLC16A6), B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2), MAPK1, and miR-1185-2-5p. Thus, 2 group drinking nan aforesaid OJ whitethorn acquisition different molecular benefits depending connected BMI.

Mechanistic Plausibility of Flavanone–Gene Interactions

Molecular docking supported nonstop interactions betwixt Phase II flavanone metabolites (for example, hesperetin-3-glucuronide, hesperetin-7-glucuronide, hesperetin-3-sulfate; naringenin-4-glucuronide, naringenin-7-glucuronide) and transcription factors, including NFKB1, AHR, PPARA, ATF4, PLAU, NRF1, IRF9, MYC, YY1, ELK4, RELA, RXRA, and TP53, pinch free-energy scope −6.29 to −9.63 kcal/mol; interactions <-6 kcal/mol were considered significant, offering a plausible way from juice metabolites to gene-regulatory effects.

Clinical Interpretation and Research Outlook

Daily OJ, a acquainted food, reprogrammed immune-cell cistron networks tied to humor pressure, lipids, and inflammation, pinch layered changes crossed protein-coding genes, miRNA, lncRNA, and snoRNA. Predicted interactions betwixt flavanone metabolites and transcription factors, including NFKB1, AHR, and PPARA, supply mechanistic plausibility.

Importantly, BMI-stratified effects revealed that lipid pathways dominated successful overweight adults, while inflammation pathways shifted successful normal-weight adults. However, nan results are constricted by nan mini sample size (n=20), nan absence of a power beverage, nan usage of a microarray platform, and nan exploratory quality of in-silico docking, which remains hypothesis-generating. 

Future studies should merge fold-change magnitude information pinch targeted functional assays to validate these transcriptomic signatures. For individuals and clinicians, this supports tailoring “simple” dietary proposal to assemblage weight, to move an mundane portion into a much precise cardiometabolic lever.

Personalized nutrition requires some molecular grounds and applicable application; these findings connection early molecular insights that tin pass specified individualized dietary guidance. Further investigation is needed to corroborate and construe these transcriptomic effects into objective outcomes.

Journal reference:

  • Fraga, L. N., Milenkovic, D., Duarte, I. de A. E., Nuthikattu, S., Coutinho, C. P., Lajolo, F. M., & Hassimotto, N. M. A. (2025). A Global Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Body Weight-Specific Molecular Responses to Chronic Orange Juice Consumption successful Healthy Individuals. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.70299, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.70299
More