Conclusion
Theobromine did not improve fasting and postprandial ABCA1-mediated cholesterol efflux capacity, but decreased fasting miR-92a levels. High-fat meal intake increased postprandial cholesterol efflux and the three selected miRNAs levels.
Results
Thirty overweight and 14 obese healthy men and women participated in this randomized, double-blind crossover study. Participants consumed 500 mg d-1 of theobromine or placebo for 4 weeks. ABCA1-mediated cholesterol efflux was measured using J774 macrophages. MiRNAs levels (miR-92a, miR-223, miR-135a*) were quantified in apolipoprotein B-depleted serum. Theobromine consumption did not affect fasting and postprandial cholesterol efflux. Fasting miR-223 and miR-135a levels were unchanged, while miR-92a levels were decreased (-0.21; p < 0.05). The high-fat meal increased postprandial cholesterol efflux capacity (+4.3 percentage points; p ≤ 0.001), miR-92a (+1.21; p < 0.001), and miR-223 (+1.79; p < 0.001) levels, while a trend was found for miR-135a (+1.08; p = 0.06).