Orange juice and its major polyphenol hesperidin consumption do not induce immunomodulation in healthy well-nourished humans.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Polyphenols exert a variety of biological properties, including antioxidant, immunomodulatory and antigenotoxic effects. In a randomized crossover study in healthy men, we investigated the effects of orange juice and its major polyphenolic compound hesperidin on a panel of immune cell functions, including cytokine secretion by leukocytes, lytic activity of NK cells, and the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) burst by polymorphonuclear neutrophil cells (PMN). METHODS The protocol design was divided into three 4-week treatment periods separated by 3-week wash-out intervals, for total study duration of 18 weeks. During treatment periods, volunteers (n = 24) consumed daily 500 mL of orange juice, or an isocaloric control beverage with hesperidin (292 mg in a capsule), or of the same control beverage with a placebo. RESULTS Whatever the intake was, no variations were recorded on leukocyte subset distributions (PMN, B and T lymphocytes, NK cells and monocytes), ROS production by stimulated PMNs, lytic activity of NK cells or cytokine production capacity of leukocytes in well-nourished healthy volunteers. CONCLUSIONS We show that consumption within the usual daily intake range of orange juice and its major polyphenol hesperidin do not induce immunomodulation of cell immune function in healthy well-nourished humans.