TY - JOUR
T1 - Hypocholesterolemic and prebiotic effects of a whole-grain oat-based granola breakfast cereal in a cardio-metabolic "at risk" population
AU - Connolly, Michael L.
AU - Tzounis, Xenofon
AU - Tuohy, Kieran M.
AU - Lovegrove, Julie A.
N1 - © 2016 Connolly, Tzounis, Tuohy and Lovegrove. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License - CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
PY - 2016/11/7
Y1 - 2016/11/7
N2 - Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RTC) have confirmed the hypocholesterolaemic effect of oats and oat based fibers. However, the mechanisms by which oats or oat fractions lower cholesterol is not totally clear. Recognizing the important role of the gut microbiome in metabolism and metabolic disease risk, we examined the impact of whole grain oat Granola (WGO) on the human gut microbiota and cardio-metabolic risk factors using a randomized crossover dietary intervention in at risk individuals (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01925365). We randomized 32 individuals at risk of developing cardio-metabolic disease by virtue of mild hypercholesterolaemia or glucose intolerance, into two groups consuming either 45 g of WGO or non-whole grain (NWG) breakfast cereals daily for two 6-week intervention periods separated by a 4-week wash out period in a randomized, controlled, crossover, double-blinded design. Confirming the cholesterol lowering effect of WGO, we observed a significant time by treatment interaction, for total cholesterol (TC) (P = 0.0001) and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) (P = 0.02) compared to NWG. A significant time by treatment interaction was also observed for the relative abundance of fecal bifidobacteria (P = 0.0001), lactobacilli (P = 0.001) and total bacterial count (P = 0.008), which were all elevated after consumption of WGO. Daily consumption of WGO resulted in a prebiotic effect on the human gut microbiota composition and significant reductions in TC and LDL-C concentrations. Prebiotic modulation of the human gut microbiota may thus constitute a previously unrecognized mechanism contributing to the hypocholesterolaemic effects of whole grain oat Granola.
AB - Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RTC) have confirmed the hypocholesterolaemic effect of oats and oat based fibers. However, the mechanisms by which oats or oat fractions lower cholesterol is not totally clear. Recognizing the important role of the gut microbiome in metabolism and metabolic disease risk, we examined the impact of whole grain oat Granola (WGO) on the human gut microbiota and cardio-metabolic risk factors using a randomized crossover dietary intervention in at risk individuals (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01925365). We randomized 32 individuals at risk of developing cardio-metabolic disease by virtue of mild hypercholesterolaemia or glucose intolerance, into two groups consuming either 45 g of WGO or non-whole grain (NWG) breakfast cereals daily for two 6-week intervention periods separated by a 4-week wash out period in a randomized, controlled, crossover, double-blinded design. Confirming the cholesterol lowering effect of WGO, we observed a significant time by treatment interaction, for total cholesterol (TC) (P = 0.0001) and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) (P = 0.02) compared to NWG. A significant time by treatment interaction was also observed for the relative abundance of fecal bifidobacteria (P = 0.0001), lactobacilli (P = 0.001) and total bacterial count (P = 0.008), which were all elevated after consumption of WGO. Daily consumption of WGO resulted in a prebiotic effect on the human gut microbiota composition and significant reductions in TC and LDL-C concentrations. Prebiotic modulation of the human gut microbiota may thus constitute a previously unrecognized mechanism contributing to the hypocholesterolaemic effects of whole grain oat Granola.
KW - Bifidobacterium
KW - Cardiovascular risk
KW - Cholesterol
KW - Prebiotic
KW - Whole-grain oat granola
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85006750971&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01675
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01675
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85006750971
SN - 1664-302X
VL - 7
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Microbiology
M1 - 1675
ER -