The Effect of Plant Derived Bioactive Compounds on Inflammation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

A growing number of people worldwide are changing their lifestyle leading to an increasing number of overweight and obese individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS). With obesity and MetS come an elevated inflammatory state resulting in increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, among other lifestyle diseases. Fruits and vegetables (FV) contain phytochemicals with health beneficial effects including anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to investigate the effects of diets high in FV, and plant-based products on C-reactive protein (CRP). A systematic search in PUBMED and EMBASE gave rise to 883 articles, 16 of which are included in the meta-analysis. The effects of plant-based products and diets are investigated in subgroups including overweight, obese, and diabetes; as wells as the effect of plant-oils and anthocyanin on CRP. The analysis shows an overall significant reduction in CRP for all articles (p= 0.0006). A significant decrease in diabetic (p= 0.01), overweight (p= 0.005), and obese patients (p= 0.05) is observed, including significant effects of anthocyanins (p= 0.001) and plant-oils (p< 0.00001) on CRP. These findings strongly support the recommendation for diets high in FV and plant-oils to help attenuate elevated CRP.