Postprandial lipid, glucose, insulin, and cholecystokinin responses in men fed barley pasta enriched with β-glucan

Abstract

Background: Fiber regulates the rate and site of lipid and carbohydrate digestion and absorption and thus can modify the alimentary responses to a meal. When fiber sources containing viscous polysaccharides are included in a meal, a slower rate of carbohydrate and lipid absorption will modify the alimentary hormone and lipid responses. Objective: We investigated in 11 healthy men the response of insulin, glucose, cholecystokinin, and lipid to 2 test meals containing ␤-glucan. Design: One of the meals was high in fiber (15.7 g) and the other meal was low in fiber (5.0 g). The low-fiber meal contained pasta made with wheat flour. The high-fiber meals contained pasta prepared by replacing 40% of the wheat with 2 types of barley flour: barley naturally high in ␤-glucan and the other a flour enriched in ␤-glucan during processing. Results: Plasma glucose and insulin concentrations increased significantly after all meals but the insulin response was more blunted after the barley-containing meals. The test meals were low in fat (25% of energy) but elicited an increase in plasma triacylglycerol and cholecystokinin. Cholecystokinin remained elevated for a longer time after the barley-containing meals. After the low-fiber meal, plasma cholesterol concentrations did not change significantly; however, 4 h after the barley-containing meals, the cholesterol concentration dropped below the fasting concentration and was significantly lower than that after the lowfiber meal. Conclusions: Carbohydrate was more slowly absorbed from the 2 high-fiber meals. Consumption of the barley-containing meals appeared to stimulate reverse cholesterol transport, which may contribute to the cholesterol-lowering ability of barley.Am J Clin Nutr 1999;69:55-63.

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

“…Previous studies (Anderson et al, 1990;Hallfrisch & Behall, 2000;Keogh et al, 2003) have shown that the delayed glucose absorption probably is due to the high viscosity of b-glucans. Bourdon et al (1999) demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the glucose response between a meal with enriched barley pasta (5 g of b-glucans) and wheat pasta, but the insulin response differed. Though this indicates that carbohydrate from the meal with b-glucan enriched pasta was digested and absorbed more slowly, the effect was not enough to lower the glycaemic response.…”

“…These varying results in human trials may be due to factors such as the dose of b-glucans, food processing, solid or liquid study products, the initial cholesterol concentrations of the subjects, or the study design. Although the cholesterol-lowering mechanisms of oats and barley b-glucans are still not fully understood, their effects seem to relate to an increased viscosity in the intestine, which leads to a decreased cholesterol absorption Lia et al, 1995;Bourdon et al, 1999). The viscosity in the intestine not only depends on the amount of b-glucan ingested, but also on the solubility, structure and MW of the b-glucan (Å man et al, 2004).…”

“…We therefore decided to compare the effect of products enriched with b-glucan from oats and barley on the serum lipoprotein profile. Other advantageous effects of b-glucans are a reduced postprandial glucose and insulin response (Braaten et al, 1994;Dubois et al, 1995;Liljeberg et al, 1996;Bourdon et al, 1999), and for that reason we also evaluated the effect of the oats and barley b-glucan beverages on postprandial concentrations of glucose and insulin.…”

Depression of the glycemic index by high levels of β-glucan fiber in two functional foods tested in type 2 diabetes

“…These studies increased b-glucan intake as part of their soluble fiber strategy and further demonstrated the therapeutic potential of viscous fibers such as oat bglucan. Studies have shown that barley b-glucan also reduces the post-prandial glucose and endocrine response (Bourdon et al, 1999).…”

The effect of β-glucan on the glycemic and insulin index

“…The role of viscosity of b-glucan in reducing the postprandial blood glucose levels is well documented in experimental studies (Wood et al, 1990(Wood et al, , 1994(Wood et al, , 2000Braaten et al, 1991;Bourdon et al, 1999). Wood et al (1994) used increasing doses of pure and totally dissolved oat b-glucan to show that the oat gum decreases postprandial glucose and insulin responses.…”