OSU Nutritionists Initiate One Sweet Study
Adam Huffer
Communication Services
Oklahoma State University
(405) 744-6260
1/23/03
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Dr. Brenda Smith, (standing) an assistant professor
in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, appears with graduate student
Ashley Ethriedge in the cell culture laboratory.
Smith is conducting experiments involving the effects of antioxidant
compounds contained in chocolate on bone loss. Expectedly the preliminary
stage of an in depth study, the initial funding was provided by the OSU
Foundation Women’s |
A group of researchers in OSU’s
Dr. Brenda Smith, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional
Sciences, is studying the effects on bones of polyphenols
contained in chocolate. A diverse group of chemical compounds with antioxidant
properties, polyphenols are found primarily in fruits
and vegetables. Scientists believe that in addition to complementing
cardiovascular health, as demonstrated in noted studies of consumption of polyphenols contained in red wine, the compounds aid bone
remodeling, the body’s naturally occurring mechanism of wearing away and
rebuilding bones.
“Bone remodeling is much like remodeling a house, when part of the old is torn
down to make way for the new,” Smith said. “Our bones do exactly that as new
and better cells constantly replace older cells.”
“Without constant remodeling, our bones would become very rigid structures and
become even more susceptible to fractures,” she said.
Polyphenols have been shown to affect particularly resorption, or bone loss.
“When we are young, osteoblasts, the formation cells,
lay down more bone and more is formed than lost to osteoplasts,
the resorption cells,” Smith said. “In early adult life,
osteoplasts and resorption
tend to catch up, and gradually, as we grow old, we start losing bone.”
“We believe antioxidants inhibit bone resorption and
are looking at how we can slow the process,” Smith said.
Smith is part of a group of researchers spearheaded by Professors Bahram Arjmandi and Barbara Stoecker. The nutritional scientists are working on bone
loss and afflictions associated with it such as osteoporosis, an ever-growing
health risk as Americans are living longer. Their focus has attracted interest
and funding from entities such as NASA EPSCoR, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, the
The group’s studies have involved polyphenol-rich
foods such as dried plums and soy products. The cocoa bean is also an extremely
high source, giving chocolate a polyphenol
composition of about 10 percent of its weight. With funding from the OSU
Foundation Women’s
“Part of the concern with chocolate is preliminarily it has shown positive
effects, but they don’t seem to continue very long, in fact, only a matter of
hours,” Smith said. “We want to look at the isolated compounds and see if there
are potential or real benefits and, if so, are there ways that it may be
packaged differently.”
“Or, are there ways to make chocolate even more rich in polyphenols
to stay in the system longer.”
Much like the dried plum and soy studies began, Smith’s current cell culture
evaluation of polyphenols in chocolate is the start
of a much more in depth project. While it holds promise, any breakthroughs will
follow years of research including animal and, eventually, clinical studies.
“We have to be careful as nutritionists because whenever something comes out
about a food product, unlike a promising new drug, people can go right out and
buy it and immediately try it,” Smith said. “If people start trying to eat
chocolate every two hours throughout the day, we could create an even more
dangerous situation with obesity problems and people not living long enough to
worry about bone loss.”
And although chocolate has been added to foods the Department of Nutritional
Sciences is studying in relation to bone loss prevention, the benefits it may
hold are no substitute for living and eating sensibly, cautions Smith, who also
specializes in exercise science.
“There are many components to the lifestyle approach necessary to preventing
bone loss as one ages, including weight-bearing exercise, but the immobile and
aged ö and the American population in general ö don’t get enough exercise. . .
period,” Smith said. “As our population shifts and we’re living longer,
projections indicate if we don’t come up with some things to help people, be it
nutritional interventions or drug interventions, then we are going to have a
big problem on our hands.”
“We need to do weight-bearing exercise as a component, but if we can
incorporate into regular diets some of these compounds while avoiding negative
side effects on other systems of the body, and coincidentally the side effects
of drugs, all the better.”
For information about this page, send e-mail to Adam Huffer.
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