Materials and Methods
Study subjects and experimental design
The study protocol (clinicaltrials.gov NCT01858376) and materials were approved by The Ohio State University (OSU) Institution Review Board (IRB). All subjects provided written informed consent before participation in the study. Overweight/Class-1 obese (body–mass index [BMI]: 25–35) adult (21–70 years) human subjects of both genders were eligible to participate in this study. Participants were asked to fast overnight before blood sample collections. Any self-reported deviations in diet or exercises were recorded. The subjects were excluded from the study if any one of the following medications was used for management/treatment of CVD-related disorders: beta-blockers, hydrochlorothiazide, statins (Crestor, Lipitor, etc.), aspirin, and ACE inhibitors. The demographics of subjects participating in this study are presented in Table 1. The study design included two baseline visits followed by 12 weeks of supplementation and then 2 weeks of washout. At each visit, 50 mL of blood was collected and the following were recorded: age, sex, height, weight, BMI, blood pressure, and pulse. The blood was used for blinded hospital testing of lipid profile, platelet aggregation, and high-sensitivity CRP.