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Physicochemical properties of oat beta-glucan influence its LDL cholesterol lowering effect in human subjects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2010

T. M. S. Wolever ,
S. M. Tosh ,
A. L. Gibbs ,
J. Brand-Miller ,
A. M. Duncan ,
V. Hart ,
B. Lamarche ,
B. Thomson ,
R. Duss  and
P. J. Wood
T. M. S. Wolever
Affiliation:
Glycemic Index Laboratories Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada
S. M. Tosh
Affiliation:
Agriculture Agri-Foods Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
A. L. Gibbs
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
J. Brand-Miller
Affiliation:
Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
A. M. Duncan
Affiliation:
Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
V. Hart
Affiliation:
Reading Scientific Services Ltd, Reading, UK
B. Lamarche
Affiliation:
INAF, Laval University, Laval, QC, Canada
B. Thomson
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
R. Duss
Affiliation:
CreaNutrition, AG, Zug, Switzerland
P. J. Wood
Affiliation:
Agriculture Agri-Foods Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
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Abstract

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Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 69 , Issue OCE6: Summer Meeting, 28 June–1 July 2010, Nutrition and health: cell to community , 2010 , E461
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2010

Daily consumption of 3 g oat β-glucan is considered sufficient to lower serum LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), but not all studies show an effect. The ability of oat β-glucan to reduce LDL-C is thought to depend on viscosity which is controlled by the molecular weight (MW) and the amount of oat β-glucan solubilized in the intestinal lumen (C), but this has not been demonstrated in human subjects.

Therefore, our two primary objectives were to determine if consuming 3 g high-MW oat-β-glucan daily reduced LDL-C, and if LDL-C-lowering was related to log(MW×C) of oat-β-glucan. To address these objectives, we conducted a randomized, controlled, double-blind parallel design clinical trial in two contract–research–organisations and three university nutrition research centres in Canada, Australia and UK. A volunteer sample of healthy subjects with LDL-C ≥3.0 and ⩽5.0 mmol/l (n 786 screened, n 400 ineligible, n 19 refused, n 367 randomized, n 345 completed) were randomly assigned by the computer to receive one of five treatments. Subjects consumed cereal containing wheat fibre (n 87) or a total of 3 g high-MW (n 86), 4 g medium-MW (n 67), 3 g medium-MW (n 64) or 4 g low-MW (n 63) oat β-glucan daily (OatWell®, divided doses, twice-daily) for 4 weeks. Using an intent-to-treat analysis, serum-LDL-C concentration after 4 weeks was compared between treatments after adjusting for baseline LDL-C.

After 4 weeks, LDL-C on 3 g high-MW oat β-glucan cereal was less than on wheat-fibre cereal by 0.21 mmol/l (95% CI; −0.11, −0.30, P=0.0023). By analysis of covariance log(MW×C) was a significant determinant of week 4 LDL-C-cholesterol (P=0.003). The treatment effect was not significantly influenced by age, sex, study centre or baseline LDL-C.

It was concluded that consuming only 3 g high-MW oat β-glucan daily in a ready-to-eat cereal reduced LDL-C by 0.2 mmol/l; efficacy was reduced in cereals containing oat β-glucan with low MW. Thus, the physicochemical properties of oat β-glucan should be considered when assessing the cholesterol-lowering ability of oat-containing products.

The trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT00981981.

Funding was provide by the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovations Systems and CreaNutrition.