Oat Beta Glucan
Simultaneous Intake of {beta}-Glucan and Plant Stanol Esters Affects Lipid Metabolism in Slightly Hypercholesterolemic Subjects
1: J Nutr. 2007 Mar;137(3):583-8
Simultaneous intake of beta-glucan and plant stanol esters affects lipid metabolism in slightly hypercholesterolemic subjects.
Maastricht University, Department of Human Biology, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Intake of food products rich in water-soluble fiber beta-glucan and products enriched with plant stanol esters lower serum cholesterol. Combining 2 functional food ingredients into one food product may achieve additional reductions of serum cholesterol. Our objective was to investigate the effects of a simultaneous intake of beta-glucan plus plant stanol esters on lipid metabolism in mildly hypercholesterolemic volunteers. In a randomized, controlled, 3-period crossover study, 40 mildly hypercholesterolemic men and women received muesli in random order twice a day for 4 wk, which provided, in total, 5 g control fiber from wheat (control muesli), 5 g oat beta-glucan (beta-glucan muesli), or 5 g oat beta-glucan plus 1.5 g plant stanols (combination muesli). beta-Glucan muesli decreased serum LDL cholesterol by 5.0% compared with control muesli (P = 0.013). Combination muesli reduced LDL cholesterol by 9.6% compared with control muesli (P < 0.001), and by 4.4% compared with beta-glucan muesli (P = 0.036). Serum HDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations did not differ after the 3 treatments. Compared with control muesli, beta-glucan muesli increased bile acid synthesis (P = 0.043) and decreased cholesterol absorption (P = 0.011). Addition of plant stanols did not influence bile acid synthesis but decreased cholesterol absorption (P < 0.001) and raised cholesterol synthesis (P = 0.016) compared with control muesli, and the plant stanols decreased cholesterol absorption compared with beta-glucan muesli (P = 0.004). The combination muesli decreased serum concentrations of sitostanol compared with control muesli (P = 0.010). Plasma concentrations of lipid-soluble antioxidants did not differ after the 3 treatments. beta-Glucan muesli effectively lowered serum LDL cholesterol concentrations. The addition of plant stanol esters to beta-glucan-enriched muesli further lowered serum LDL cholesterol, although effects were slightly less than predicted.
PMID: 17311944 [PubMed - in process]
Cholesterol-lowering effect of beta-glucan from oat bran in mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects may decrease when beta-glucan is incorporated into bread and cookies
1: Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Aug;78(2):221-7
Cholesterol-lowering effect of beta-glucan from oat bran in mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects may decrease when beta-glucan is incorporated into bread and cookies.
Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
BACKGROUND: Findings about the effects of beta-glucan on serum lipoproteins are conflicting. OBJECTIVE: The study investigated the effects of beta-glucan from oat bran in bread and cookies (study 1) and in orange juice (study 2) on serum lipoproteins in mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects. DESIGN: In study 1, 48 subjects (21 men, 27 women) received for 3 wk control bread and cookies rich in wheat fiber. For the next 4 wk, by random assignment, 23 subjects continued to consume the control products, and 25 received bread and cookies rich in beta-glucan. Mean daily intake of beta-glucan was 5.9 g. Total dietary fiber intake did not differ significantly between the groups. In study 2, the same sources of control fiber and beta-glucan (5 g/d) as in study 1 were provided. For 2 wk, 25 of the original 48 subjects (10 men, 15 women) were randomly assigned to consume orange juice containing either wheat fiber (n = 13) or beta-glucan from oat bran (n = 12). After a washout period of 1 wk, dietary regimens were crossed over. RESULTS: In study 1, the change in LDL cholesterol did not differ significantly (-0.12 mmol/L; P = 0.173) between the 2 groups. In study 2, the drink rich in beta-glucan decreased LDL cholesterol by 0.26 +/- 0.07 mmol/L (6.7 +/- 1.8%; P = 0.001) and the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol by 0.26 +/- 0.11 (5.4 +/- 2.1%; P = 0.029) compared with the other drink. HDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations did not change significantly. CONCLUSIONS: The food matrix or the food processing, or both, could have adverse effects on the hypocholesterolemic properties of oat beta-glucan.
PMID: 12885701 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Food products containing free tall oil-based phytosterols and oat beta-glucan lower serum total and LDL cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic adults
1: J Nutr. 2003 Mar;133(3):808-13
Food products containing free tall oil-based phytosterols and oat beta-glucan lower serum total and LDL cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic adults.
Chicago Center for Clinical Research, IL, USA. kmaki@protocare.com
This randomized, double-blind, controlled trial evaluated the influence of low fat, low saturated fat food products that contained free tall oil-based phytosterols (TOP) and oat beta-glucan (from whole oats and bran concentrate) on serum lipid concentrations in adults with mild-to-moderate hypercholesterolemia. After a 5-wk National Cholesterol Education Program Step I diet lead-in period, 112 subjects incorporated one of two treatments into their diets for 6 wk: food products (cereal, snack bar and beverage) that provided 1.8 g TOP and 2.8 g beta-glucan/d and contained < or =3.0 g total fat and < or =1.0 g saturated fat (TOP/beta-glucan treatment) or similar control foods. The serum LDL cholesterol response from baseline to the end of study was significantly larger in the TOP/beta-glucan treated group than in the control group, in which there was no change (-3.7 vs. 0.4%; P = 0.013). Likewise, total cholesterol decreased in the TOP/beta-glucan treatment group and did not change significantly in the controls (-2.3 vs. 0.8%; P = 0.043). Serum HDL cholesterol and triglyceride responses did not differ between the groups. The results of this trial suggest that consumption of a group of low fat, TOP and beta-glucan- containing foods is a useful adjunct in the dietary management of hypercholesterolemia.
PMID: 12612157 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Effects of consuming foods containing oat beta-glucan on blood pressure, carbohydrate metabolism and biomarkers of oxidative stress in men and women with elevated blood pressure
1: Eur J Clin Nutr. 2006 Dec 6; [Epub ahead of print]
Effects of consuming foods containing oat beta-glucan on blood pressure, carbohydrate metabolism and biomarkers of oxidative stress in men and women with elevated blood pressure.
[1] 1Radiant Research, Chicago, IL, USA [2] 2Provident Clinical Research, Bloomington, IN, USA.
Objective:To assess the effects of consuming foods containing oat beta-glucan on blood pressure, carbohydrate homeostasis and biomarkers of oxidative stress.Design:A randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial.Setting:The trial was conducted at two clinics.Subjects and interventions:Ninety-seven men and women with resting systolic blood pressure 130-179 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure 85-109 mm Hg were randomly assigned to consume foods containing oat beta-glucan or control foods for 12 weeks. Resting blood pressures, insulin and glucose values before and after standard breakfast meals, and four biomarkers of oxidative stress were measured before and at the end of the treatment period.Results:Changes from baseline to week 12 in mean peak insulin and incremental area under the insulin curve differed significantly between groups (P=0.037 and 0.034, respectively), with the beta-glucan group showing declines and the control group remaining essentially unchanged. Blood pressure responses were not significantly different between groups overall. However, in subjects with body mass index above the median (31.5 kg/m(2)), both systolic (8.3 mm Hg, P=0.008) and diastolic (3.9 mm Hg, P=0.018) blood pressures were lowered in the beta-glucan group compared to controls. No significant differences in biomarkers of oxidative stress were observed between treatments.Conclusions:The results of the present trial suggest beneficial effects of foods containing beta-glucan from oats on carbohydrate metabolism, and on blood pressure in obese subjects.Sponsorship:Funding for this study was provided by the Quaker Oats Company.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition advance online publication, 6 December 2006; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602562.
PMID: 17151592 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Effects of oat beta-glucan on innate immunity and infection after exercise stress
1: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004 Aug;36(8):1321-7
Effects of oat beta-glucan on innate immunity and infection after exercise stress.
Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, SC, USA. jmdavis@sc.edu
PURPOSE: To test the effects of oat beta-glucan (ObetaG) on respiratory infection, macrophage antiviral resistance, and NK cytotoxicity. METHODS: Mice were randomly assigned to one of four groups: Ex-H2O, Ex-ObetaG, Con-H2O, or Con-ObetaG. ObetaG was fed in the drinking water for 10 d before intranasal inoculation of HSV-1 or sacrifice. Exercise consisted of treadmill running to volitional fatigue (approximately 140 min) for three consecutive days. Fifteen minutes after the last bout of exercise or rest, mice (N = 24) were intranasally inoculated with a standardized dose of HSV-1. Mice were monitored twice daily for morbidity and mortality. Additional mice were sacrificed after exercise, peritoneal macrophages were obtained via i.p. lavage and assayed for antiviral resistance to HSV-1 (N = 18), and spleens were harvested and assayed for NK cell cytotoxicity (N = 12). RESULTS: Exercise stress was associated with a 28% increase in morbidity (P = 0.036) and 18% increase in mortality (P = 0.15). Ingestion of ObetaG before infection prevented this increase in morbidity (P = 0.048) and mortality (P = 0.05). Exercise stress was associated with a decrease in macrophage antiviral resistance (P = 0.007), which was blocked by ingestion of ObetaG (P < 0.001). There were no effects of exercise or ObetaG on NK cytotoxicity. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that daily ingestion of ObetaG may offset the increased risk of URTI associated with exercise stress, which may be mediated, at least in part, by an increase in macrophage antiviral resistance.
PMID: 15292739 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Beta-glucan, extracted from oat, enhances disease resistance against bacterial and parasitic infections
1: FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2003 Jan 21;35(1):67-75.
Beta-glucan, extracted from oat, enhances disease resistance against bacterial and parasitic infections.
Animal Biotechnology Centre, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, 51 Campus Drive, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5A8.
The effect of beta-glucan, extracted from oats, on the enhancement of resistance to infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Eimeria vermiformis was studied in mice. In vitro study using macrophages isolated from the peritoneal cavity showed that beta-glucan treatment significantly enhanced phagocytic activity. In vivo study further demonstrated that beta-glucan treatment induced a significant (P<0.05) protection against the challenge with 5 x 10(8) of S. aureus in mice. Fecal oocyst shedding in the C57BL/6 mice infected with E. vermiformis was diminished by beta-glucan treatment by 39.6% in intraperitoneal and 28.5% in intragastric group compared to non-treated control. Patency period was shorter and antigen (sporozoites and merozoites) specific antibodies were significantly (P<0.05-0.01) higher in beta-glucan-treated group compared to non-treated control group. There were an increasing number of splenic IFN-gamma-secreting cells in glucan-treated group via intraperitoneal route, which might be responsible for the enhancement of the disease resistance. Glucan treatment was able to effectively change the lymphocytes population (Thy 1.2(+), CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells) in the mesenteric lymph nodes and Peyer's patches in mice infected with E. vermiformis. In conclusion, the oral or parenteral oat beta-glucan treatment enhanced the resistance to S. aureus or E. vermiformis infection in the mice.
PMID: 12589959 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
