BACKGROUND: Low-grade chronic inflammation in overweight subjects is thought to play an important role in disease development.

OBJECTIVE: It was hypothesized that specific dietary components are able to reduce low-grade inflammation as well as metabolic and oxidative stress.

DESIGN: Dietary products [resveratrol, green tea extract, alpha-tocopherol, vitamin C, n-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids, and tomato extract] selected for their evidence-based antiinflammatory properties were combined and given as supplements to 36 healthy overweight men with mildly elevated plasma C-reactive protein concentrations in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study with treatment periods of 5 wk. Inflammatory and oxidative stress defense markers were quantified in plasma and urine. Furthermore, 120 plasma proteins, 274 plasma metabolites (lipids, free fatty acids, and polar compounds), and the transcriptomes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and adipose tissue were quantified.

RESULTS: Plasma adiponectin concentrations increased by 7%, whereas C-reactive protein (principal inflammation marker) was unchanged. However, a multitude of subtle changes were detected by an integrated analysis of the "omics" data, which indicated modulated inflammation of adipose tissue, improved endothelial function, affected oxidative stress, and increased liver fatty acid oxidation.

CONCLUSIONS: An intervention with selected dietary products affected inflammatory processes, oxidative stress, and metabolism in humans, as shown by large-scale profiling of genes, proteins, and metabolites in plasma, urine, and adipose tissue.

This trial was registered at clinical trials.gov as NCT00655798.