In a public tender with competitors from around the world, the CTNS stood up with a contract of more than $500,000 for a nutritional intervention study with 250 volunteers to evaluate the benefits of consuming 100% orange juice

To validate the health effects of consuming 100% natural orange juice on slightly hypertensive patients. This is the objective of the study of the Technological Centre of Nutrition and Health (CTNS). To do it, several biochemical markers are used to assess the effect, to check whether the presence of a compound in the orange juice (hesperidin) has beneficial effects on blood pressure. To this end, a study with 252 slightly hypertensive volunteers, who must consume orange juice for 12 weeks, will be conducted.

At the beginning, during and at the end of the study, several anthropometric, biochemical and health parameters will be evaluated, including a new nutrigenomics approach -using omic technologies to have a more holistic view of what’s happening at biochemical level in our body- that the Florida team, which funds the project, greatly appreciated. Dr. Lluís Arola, CTNS’ director and principal investigator of the study, signed the contract last April, after approval by the US grantor.

The study will be developed in the areas designated in the CTNS’ building, and will start in September 2015 until September 2017. The CTNS (part of the TECNIO network) is currently finalizing preparations for the study with Dr. Rosa Solà team of the Rovira i Virgili University, and already has the approval of the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the University Hospital Sant Joan de Reus.

The study will involve of a group of academics, scientists and health professionals, the participation of 252 volunteers, conducting more than 1,700 follow-up visits, analysis of over 26,000 samples of plasma and consumption of over 7,000 liters of 100% natural orange juice from Florida.

The Florida Department of Citrus America convened in 2014 an international tender to study the beneficial effects of orange juice. This tender is funded by an international consortium called the Citrus Health Claim Initiative, formed by the State of Florida, the International Association of juice manufacturers via its European subsidiary (AIJN) and the largest citrus growers and juice from Brazil, as part of their international scientific strategy.

The CTNS submitted the winning proposal by proposing a parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled nutritional intervention study to evaluate the effects of chronic and acute consumption of 100% Florida orange juice, amounting to $536,000.