Abstract
Objectives:
To investigate side by side the effects on serum lipoproteins and postprandial glucose and insulin concentrations of beverages enriched with 5 or 10 g of β-glucans from oats or barley.
Design and setting:
An 8-week single blind, controlled study with five parallel groups carried out at two centres under identical conditions.
Subjects:
A total of 100 free-living hypercholesterolaemic subjects were recruited locally and 89 completed the study.
Interventions:
During a 3-week run-in period all subjects consumed a control beverage. For the following 5-week period four groups received a beverage with 5 or 10 g β-glucans from oats or barley and one group continued with the control beverage. Blood samples in weeks 0, 2, 3, 7 and 8 were analysed for serum lipids, lipoproteins, glucose and insulin. Postprandial concentrations of glucose and insulin were compared between control and the beverage with 5 g of β-glucans from oats or barley.
Results:
Compared to control, 5 g of β-glucans from oats significantly lowered total-cholesterol by 7.4% (P<0.01), and postprandial concentrations of glucose (30 min, P=0.005) and insulin (30 min, P=0.025). The beverage with 10 g of β-glucans from oats did not affect serum lipids significantly in comparison with control. No statistically significant effects compared to control of the beverages with barley β-glucans were found.
Conclusions:
A daily consumption of 5 g of oat β-glucans in a beverage improved the lipid and glucose metabolism, while barley β-glucans did not.
Sponsorship:
Founded by the European Commission (QLK1-CT-2000-00535).
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Åman P, Rimsten L & Andersson R (2004): Molecular weight distribution of β-glucan in oat-based foods. Cereal Chem. 81, 356–360.
Amundsen ÅL, Haugum B & Andersson H (2003): Changes in serum cholesterol and sterol metabolites after intake of products enriched with an oat bran concentrate within a controlled diet. Scand. J. Nutr. 47, 68–74.
Anderson JW, Spencer DB, Hamilton CC, Smith SF, Tietyen J, Bryant CA & Oeltgen P (1990): Oat-bran cereal lowers serum total and LDL cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic men. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 52, 495–499.
Anon (1989): AACC committee adopts oat bran definition. Cereal Foods World 34, 1033.
Asp NG, Mattsson B & Önning G (1991): Variation in dietary fibre, β-glucan, starch, protein, fat and hull content of oats grown in Sweden 1987–1989. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 46, 31–37.
Behall KM, Scholfield DJ & Hallfrisch J (2004a): Lipids significantly reduced by diets containing barley in moderately hypercholesterolemic men. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 23, 55–62.
Behall KM, Scholfield DJ & Hallfrisch J (2004b): Diets containing barley significantly reduce lipids in mildly hypercholesterolemic men and women. J. Am. Clin. Nutr. 80, 1185–1193.
Bourdon I, Yokoyama W, Davis P, Hudson C, Backus R, Richter D, Knuckles B & Schneeman BO (1999): Postprandial lipid, glucose, insulin, and cholecystokinin responses in men fed barley pasta enriched with β-glucan. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 69, 55–63.
Braaten JT, Wood PJ, Scott FW, Wolynetz MS, Lowe MK, Bradley-White P & Collins MW (1994): Oat β-glucan reduces blood cholesterol concentration in hypercholesterolemic subjects. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 48, 465–474.
Davidson MH, Dugan LD, Burns JH, Bova J, Story K & Drennan KB (1991): The hypocholesterolemic effects of β-glucan in oatmeal and oat bran. A dose controlled study. JAMA 265, 1833–1839.
De Groot AP, Luyken R & Pikaar NA (1963): Cholesterol-lowering effect of rolled oats. Lancet 2, 303–304.
Dubois C, Armand M, Senft M, Portugal H, Pauli AM, Bernard PM, Lafont H & Lairon D (1995): Chronic oat bran intake alters postprandial lipemia and lipoproteins in healthy adults. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 61, 325–333.
Food and Drug Administration (1997): Food labelling: health claims; soluble fibre from whole oats and risk of coronary heart disease. Fed. Regist. 62, 15343–15344. Internet:http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fr970331.html.
Friedewald WT, Levy RI & Fredrickson DS (1972): Estimation of the concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in plasma, without use of the preparative ultracentrifuge. Clin. Chem. 1, 499–502.
Hallfrisch J & Behall KM (2000): Mechanism of the effects of grains on insulin and glucose responses. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 19 (Suppl 3), S320–S325.
Keogh GF, Garth JSC, Mulvey TB, McArdle BH, Coles GD, Monro JA & Poppitt SD (2003): Randomized crossover study of the effect of a highly β-glucan enriched barley on CVD risk factors in mildly hypercholesterolemic men. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 78, 711–718.
Kerckhoffs DA, Hornstra G & Mensink RP (2003): Cholesterol-lowering effect of β-glucan from oat bran in mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects may decrease when β-glucan is incorporated into bread and cookies. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 78, 221–227.
Lambo AM, Öste R & Nyman M (2005): Dietary fibre in fermented oat and barley β-glucan rich concentrates. Food Chem. 89, 283–293.
Lia Å, Hallmans G, Sandberg A-S, Sundberg B, Åman P & Andersson H (1995): Oat β-glucan increases bile acid excretion and a fibre-rich barley fraction increases cholesterol excretion in ileostomy subjects. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 62, 1245–1251.
Liljeberg HG, Granfeldt YE & Björck IM (1996): Products based on high fibre barley genotype, but not on common barley or oats, lower postprandial glucose and insulin repones in healthy humans. J. Nutr. 126, 458–466.
Lovegrove JA, Clohessy A, Milon H & Williams CM (2000): Modest doses of β-glucan do not reduce concentrations of potentially atherogenic lipoproteins. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 72, 49–55.
Mälkki Y, Autio K & Hanninen O (1992): Oat bran concentrates: physical properties of β-glucan and hypocholesterolemic effects in rats. Cereal Chem. 69, 647–653.
McIntosh GH, Whyte J, McArthur R & Nestel P (1991): Barley and wheat foods: influence on plasma cholesterol concentrations in hypercholesterolemic men. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 53, 1205–1209.
Mensink RP, Zock PL, DM Kester A & Katan MB (2003): Effects of dietary fatty acids and carbohydrates on the ratio of serum total to HDL cholesterol and on serum lipids and apolipoproteins: a meta-analysis of 60 controlled trials. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 77, 1146–1155.
Önning G (2004): The use of cereal β-glucan to control diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In Functional Foods, Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes ed. A Arnoldi, pp 402–421. Cambridge, England: Woodhead Publishing Ltd.
Önning G, Wallmark A, Persson M, Åkesson B, Elmstahl S & Öste R (1999): Consumption of oat milk for 5 weeks lowers serum cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in free-living men with moderate hypercholesterolemia. Ann. Nutr. Metab. 43, 301–309.
Oscarsson M, Andersson R, Åman P, Olofsson S & Jonsson A (1998): Effects of cultivar, nitrogen ferilization rate and environment on yield and grain quality of barley. J. Sci. Food Agric. 78, 359–366.
Poulter N, Chang CL, Cuff A, Poulter C, Sever P & Thom S (1994): Lipid profiles after the daily consumption of an oat-based cereal: a controlled crossover trial. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 59, 66–69.
Ripsin CM, Keenan JM, Jacobs Jr DR, Elmer PJ, Welch RR, Van Horn L, Liu K, Turnbull WH, Thye FW, Kestin M, Hegsted M, Davidson DM, Davidson MH, Dugan LD, Demark-Wahnefried W & Beling S (1992): Oat products and lipid lowering. A meta-analysis. JAMA 267, 3317–3325.
Törronen R, Kansanen L, Uusitupa M, Hanninen O, Myllymaki O, Harkonen H & Mälkki Y (1992): Effects of an oat bran concentrate on serum lipids in free-living men with mild to moderate hypercholesterolaemia. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 46, 621–627.
Whyte JL, McArthur R, Topping D & Nestel P (1992): Oat bran lowers plasma cholesterol concentrations in mildly hypercholesterolemic men. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 92, 446–449.
Acknowledgements
We thank Tapani Suortti and Marjatta Salmenkallio-Marttila, VTT Biotechnology, Espoo, Finland for analysis of the molecular weight of the β-glucans in the study products, and Angeliki Öste-Triantafyllou, Ceba AB, Lund, Sweden for helping with the formulation of the study products. This work was carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Communities, project QLKI-CY-2000-00535 ‘Design of foods with improved functionality and superior health effects using cereal β-glucans’. It does not necessarily reflect its views and in no way anticipates the Commission's future policy in this area.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Guarantor: G Önning.
Contributors: MB and AvR were responsible at each study centre for the study protocol, study recruitment, day-to-day running of the study and data analysis. MB also performed the statistical analysis, evaluated the results and wrote the manuscript. GÖ and RM designed and supervised the study and were involved in the evaluation of the results and writing of the manuscript.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Biörklund, M., van Rees, A., Mensink, R. et al. Changes in serum lipids and postprandial glucose and insulin concentrations after consumption of beverages with β-glucans from oats or barley: a randomised dose-controlled trial. Eur J Clin Nutr 59, 1272–1281 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602240
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602240
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Effect of oat supplementation interventions on cardiovascular disease risk markers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
European Journal of Nutrition (2022)
-
Chemical composition and risk assessment of spring barley grown in artificially contaminated soil
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2021)
-
Spruce galactoglucomannan-stabilized emulsions as essential fatty acid delivery systems for functionalized drinkable yogurt and oat-based beverage
European Food Research and Technology (2019)
-
Identification of weak and gender specific effects in a short 3 weeks intervention study using barley and oat mixed linkage β-glucan dietary supplements: a human fecal metabolome study by GC-MS
Metabolomics (2017)
-
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of the effect of barley β-glucan on LDL-C, non-HDL-C and apoB for cardiovascular disease risk reductioni-iv
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2016)