Members of the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene and Exercise Science (LPHES) under the directorship of Li Li Ji, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, recently published the following research articles:

Tianou Zhang, Ph.D. candidate in the School of Kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise physiology, is the lead author of the research study titled, “Absorption and Elimination of Oat Avenanthramides (AVAs) in Humans after Acute Consumption of Oat Cookies,” published in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity (IF=4.593). Coauthors include doctoral student Dongwook Yeo, former research associate Chounghun Kang, and Li Li Ji, Ph.D. The publication discovered that AVAs found naturally in oats are absorbed in the plasma after oral administration in humans.

Chounghun Kang, Ph.D., assistant professor at Inha University, South Korea, and former LPHES research associate, published a research paper on AVAs titled, “Anti-inflammatory Effect of Avenanthramides via NF-κB Pathways in C2C12 Skeletal Muscle Cells” in Free Radical Biology and Medicine (IF=5.606).  Dongwook Yeo, Tianou Zhang, and Li Li Ji, Ph.D. are coauthors on this publication. The data in the study indicates that AVAs are potent inhibitors of NFκB-mediated inflammatory response due to their downregulation of IKKβ activity in C2C12 cells.

Avenanthramides (AVA) are a group of compounds found exclusively in oats and are bioavailable to humans. To date, studies have shown that AVAs have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Health benefits of oat avenanthramides may help in the development of value-added products and enhance oat consumption in Minnesota, whose oat production ranks in the top three nationally.