Objective: The aim of our work was to carry out a randomized clinical trial with a fast-food Mediterranean type diet rich in platelet activating factor (PAF) antagonist to investigate the effect on type 2 diabetics and healthy human subject's platelet aggregation.
Research design and methods: We extracted lipids from fast-food Mediterranean type foodstuffs, and tested them in vitro for their ability to inhibit or antagonize PAF towards washed rabbit platelets. We chose the foodstuffs that exerted the most potent in vitro anti-PAF activity and fed 22 healthy (group A) and 23 type 2 diabetics (group B) subjects on a diet containing the chosen foodstuffs. The 22 type 2 diabetics (group C) subjects were kept on their regular diet that was being followed before entering the study. Before and after a 4-week diet, all enrolled subjects underwent the following examinations; measurement of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL-cholesterol), high density lipoprotein (HDL-cholesterol), triglycerides, glucose, HbA(1c), body mass index (BMI), and platelet aggregation in response to PAF, adenosine 5' diphosphate (ADP) and arachidonic acid (AA).
Results: The chosen diet significantly increased the EC(50) values of PAF and ADP to groups A and B (p<0.05). No statistical difference was observed on the EC(50) value of group C. No statistical differences were detected among Cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, HBA(1c), BMI, and EC(50) for AA values, for any of the three groups.
Conclusions: Consumption of a fast-food Mediterranean type diet rich in PAF antagonist improved platelet response of type 2 diabetics and healthy human subjects against thrombotic, inflammatory and proatherogenic factors.