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Nutrition in acute and chronic diseases

Longer-term effects of the egg-protein hydrolysate NWT-03 on arterial stiffness and cardiometabolic risk markers in adults with metabolic syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial

Abstract

Background

Short-term intake of egg-derived protein hydrolysates, such as NWT-03, suggest improvements in arterial stiffness and metabolic profiles, but longer-term trials are lacking. This study therefore examined the longer-term effects of NWT-03 on arterial stiffness and cardiometabolic markers in men and women with metabolic syndrome.

Methods

Seventy-six adults with metabolic syndrome (age 61 ± 10 years; BMI 31.7 ± 4.0 kg/m2) participated in a randomized, controlled, double-blind, cross-over trial with a 27-day intervention (5 g/day NWT-03) or placebo period, separated by two-to-eight weeks of washout. At the start and end of both periods, measurements were performed in the fasting state and 2 h following acute NWT-03 intake. Arterial stiffness was assessed by carotid-to-radial (PWVc-r), carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWVc-f), and central augmentation index (CAIxHR75). Moreover, cardiometabolic markers were assessed.

Results

Compared with control, longer-term NWT-03 supplementation did not affect fasting PWVc-r (0.1 m/s; −0.2 to 0.3; P = 0.715) or PWVc-f (−0.2 m/s; −0.5 to 0.1; P = 0.216). Fasting pulse pressure (PP) was however reduced by 2 mmHg (95% CI: −4 to 0; P = 0.043), but other fasting cardiometabolic markers were not affected. No effects were observed following acute NWT-03 intake at baseline. However, acute intake of NWT-03 after the intervention significantly lowered CAIxHR75 (−1.3%-point; −2.6 to −0.1; P = 0.037) and diastolic BP (−2 mmHg; −3 to 0; P = 0.036), but other cardiometabolic markers did not change.

Conclusion

Longer-term NWT-03 supplementation did not affect arterial stiffness, but modestly improved fasting PP in adults with metabolic syndrome. Acute intake of NWT-03 after the intervention also improved CAIxHR75 and diastolic BP.

Trial registration

The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT02561663.

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Fig. 1: Overview of the study design.
Fig. 2: CONSORT flow diagram.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all volunteers for participating in the study, and Maud Beckers for technical support. We thank Sanne van der Made for critically reading the study protocol and Resy Smeets, Dorien Pieters, and Bibi Waterval for their practical work in the study. This study was sponsored by the SME Newtricious, Oirlo, The Netherlands. Newtricious provided the hydrolysate but had no further role in the design, analysis or writing of this article.

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Conceptualization was performed by JP. All authors contributed to the data analysis, curation and visualization, and contributed to the original draft of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jogchum Plat.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The study was conducted according the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Maastricht University Medical Center (METC153021).

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Nijssen, K.M.R., Joris, P.J., Mensink, R.P. et al. Longer-term effects of the egg-protein hydrolysate NWT-03 on arterial stiffness and cardiometabolic risk markers in adults with metabolic syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Eur J Clin Nutr 77, 982–988 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-023-01305-8

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