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Effect of whole and ground Salba seeds (Salvia Hispanica L.) on postprandial glycemia in healthy volunteers: a randomized controlled, dose-response trial

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 67, pages 786–788 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

Incorporation of seeds into food products may attenuate postprandial glycemia. Whether these should be consumed as whole or in ground form is not known.

Subjects/Methods:

Using an acute, randomized controlled crossover design, the glycemic response of 13 healthy participants (6M:7F; 25.4±2.6 kg/m2) was studied on nine separate occasions. Test meals consisted of 7, 15 or 24 g of whole or ground Salba baked into white bread, and three control breads matched for energy, and macronutrient profile. Capillary blood samples were collected at fasting and over 2 h post consumption.

Results:

A significant effect of dose (P=0.04), but no effect of form (P=0.74) or dose-form interaction (P=0.98) was found. No adverse events were reported.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates that both ground and whole Salba are equally effective in attenuating blood glucose levels in a dose-dependent manner when incorporated into bread. Flexibility in the use of either the ground or whole seed may increase the ease of incorporation and acceptability as a dietary supplement.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Salba Smart Natural Products, LC, Denver, CO, USA company for providing partial support in the form of $500 and for providing the Salba seeds used in the study.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center, St Michael’s Hospital, 30 Bond Street, 10th Floor—Donnelly Wing, Toronto, Ontario M5B1W8, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center, St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    H Ho, E Jovanovski, A L Jenkins, R DeSouza & V Vuksan

  2. Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    A S Lee & V Vuksan

  3. Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    R DeSouza

  4. Toronto 3D Knowledge Synthesis and Clinical Trials Unit, St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    R DeSouza

  5. Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and Keenan Research Centre, St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    V Vuksan

Authors
  1. H Ho
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  2. A S Lee
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  3. E Jovanovski
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  4. A L Jenkins
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  6. V Vuksan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to V Vuksan.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

V Vuksan: received grant support for an earlier study on Salba conducted in 2001–02 from Chia Nova Co (Toronto, Ontario, Canada); received honoraria for scientific advice and travel grants to present research at meetings from Salba Corporation (Buena Aires, Argentina), Salba Smart Natural Products LC (Denver, CO, USA), Source Salba Inc (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Core Naturals Inc (Winter Spring, Fl, USA) and Salba OLE Ltd. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada); holder of an American (No. 7 326 404 B2) and Canadian (No. 2 410 556) patent for use of viscous fiber blend in diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cholesterol lowering; received honoraria as a consultant for CANTOX Co. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), InovoBiologic Inc. (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) the manufacturer of the viscous fiber blend PGX, a product based on Dr Vuksan’s research; receives remuneration as VP and part owner of Glycemic Index Laboratories, Inc, a contract research organization. AL Jenkins: was a consultant for InovoBiologic, Inc. (Calgary, Alberta, Canada); receives remuneration as Director of Research and part owner of Glycemic Index Laboratories, Inc. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Note: the results were partially presented as an abstract at Experimental Biology 2009 (FASEB J., 2009; 23; 351.7).

Supplementary Information accompanies this paper on European Journal of Clinical Nutrition website

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Ho, H., Lee, A., Jovanovski, E. et al. Effect of whole and ground Salba seeds (Salvia Hispanica L.) on postprandial glycemia in healthy volunteers: a randomized controlled, dose-response trial. Eur J Clin Nutr 67, 786–788 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.103

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.103

Keywords

  • Salba seeds
  • whole and ground
  • glycemia

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