The role of the nuclear enzyme poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose)polymerase (PARP) as a key mediator within these systemic inflammatory processes as well as in COPD associated exercise intolerance and muscle weakness could recently been identified. The attenuating effect of dietary ingredients with PARP inhibiting activity on systemic inflammation was supported by data from in vitro and in vivo studies, from other groups as well as from our own lab. We identified several caffeine metabolites as potent inhibitors of the most abundant PARP-isoform PARP-1 in-vitro, in animal models as well as in ex-vivo experiments with whole blood from COPD patients.