Green Juice in Human Metabolism: A Randomized Trial

ABSTRACT

Objective: Fruits and vegetables contain many compounds presenting potential antioxidant activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a green juice recipe in adult metabolism in order to identify new preventive dietary sources.

Method: This was a single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial. Recruitment and data were, respectively, made and collected at the Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre. Individuals who met all the inclusion criteria during the period of recruitment were included. Green juice (experimental group) or placebo (control group) were consumed from Monday to Friday between 8 and 9 am, in the amount of 300 mL for 60 days (except Saturdays and Sundays). To verify the effect of green juice on metabolism, the following were evaluated: (a) glycemia, plasma lipid profile, renal and liver functions, redox profile, and antioxidant enzymes; (b) anthropometry; and (c) well-being and anxiety.

Results: This study included 14 participants in the test group (juice group) and 13 controls (placebo group), with mean ages of 31.07 and 30.15 years, respectively. We did not observe a significant difference between the treatments. Dietary properties of vegetable and fruit juices are an area of significant interest.

Conclusions: Together with an analysis of previous works, we suggest that green juice did not cause an improvement in metabolic function and there is a need for further research on this issue, mainly through different interventions and other samples.

KEYWORDS:

• Bioactive compounds
• diets
• general nutrition
• supplements and functional foods
• metabolism

Conflict of interest

The authors do not have any conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the volunteers who participated in the study and those who helped in the execution of the project.