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Department of Public Health, University of Parma, 43100 Parma, Italy
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: furio.brighenti{at}unipr.it.
| ABSTRACT |
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2 = 13.34, df = 15, (P = 0.55), I2 = 0%], it appears that the effect of inulin-type fructans on circulating triacylglycerols is consistent across conditions. In conclusion, dietary inulin-type fructans significantly reduced serum triacylglycerols. The mechanisms, possibly related to colonic fermentation and/or incretin release from the distal gut, warrant further studies.
| Introduction |
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Therefore, strategies aimed to reduce the levels of triacylglycerols are highly recommended, especially in overweight insulin-resistant individuals where hypertriglyceridemia is linked to raised small VLDL and IDL and low HDL and represents a distinctive component of the metabolic syndrome.
Diet is considered the cornerstone in the treatment of elevated triacylglycerol levels; moderation in alcohol consumption and reduction of carbohydrate in general, and sucrose in particular, are the first recommendations traditionally given to prevent and treat hypertriglyceridemia (3). As an adjuvant to a healthy diet, back in 1993 (4) the inulin-type fructans i.e., inulin and oligofructose, have been proposed as functional food ingredients able to reduce plasma triacylglycerols, and indeed, a consistent stream of animal studies has confirmed this hypothesis (5). However, the results of studies in humans have been considered less clear-cut, with studies on this argument unable either to confirm or rule out the effect of inulin-type fructans in lowering triacylglycerols to a significant extent (6–9). The aim of this work is to conduct a meta-analysis of available literature to quantify the effects in humans of dietary inulin and oligofructose on serum triacylglycerols.
| Methods |
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Meta-analysis. The characteristics of each trial and selected summary results of the study were extracted for analysis and tabulated using REVMAN software version 4.1 (Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, UK). The same software was used for all other calculations. Data provided in non-SI format (i.e., mg/100 mL) were transformed to mmol/L by multiplying by 0.0113, according to laboratory standard conversion factor. The estimate of the principal effect was defined as the mean difference (net change in mmol/L) between the change in triacylglycerol concentrations among the subjects consuming the test diet (containing either inulin or oligofructose) calculated as the final value minus initial value, and that among the subjects consuming the control diet.
For the computation of pooled effect size, standardized mean difference was used. Because no study reported raw data, the variance for each study was calculated based on the reported SDs for each measure for the change during the test diet and the change during the control diet.
In 3 cases (18,21,23) where initial triacylglycerols values were not provided, data after the control condition were used as basal values. In the case of studies reporting data for multiple time points, only endpoints for the longest duration were used.
Estimates of the average effect of inulin-type fructans on lipid values and 95% CIs were initially calculated using both fixed-effect and random-effect models. Even though the test for heterogeneity was not significant (P = 0.55), only the results of the more conservative random effect model are presented because the assumption of heterogeneity implied by the use of random-effects models is plausible in light of differences in amounts of active substance, study durations, initial lipid concentrations, and the presence of other covariates (26). Finally, a funnel plot of the SEs of the studies against their corresponding effect size was drawn to identify potential publication bias.
| Results and Discussion |
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| Discussion |
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–27%) of both sustained weight loss (28) and fish oil consumption (29), not to mention comparisons with drug treatments specifically aimed at lowering lipids or treating insulin resistance. However, the reduction in serum triacylglycerols is well comparable with other dietary and behavioral strategies, such as the result (–8.3%) of the treatment with moderate-carbohydrate, high-fiber vs. moderate-carbohydrate, low-fiber diets in diabetic patients (30), the result (–7.3%) of the use of soy protein containing isoflavones (31), or the effect (–5% and –9%) observed after sustained aerobic exercise in women (32) and men (33), respectively. The biological mechanisms by which inulin-type fructans are able to reduce serum triacylglycerols in humans remain obscure, even though studies in different animal models have clearly shown that a down-regulation of hepatic lipogenesis could play a role (5,6). Because inulin-type fructans are not absorbed, and, at least in humans, they have no effect on postprandial blood glucose (16,21,24) but can inconsistently either raise (21) or lower (24) insulin response, it is likely that their effects are mediated by events related to colonic fermentation.
Vogt et al. (34) reported that 25 g/d of the fermentable sugars lactulose and L-rhamnose reduce serum triacylglycerols and their rates of synthesis. Similarly, Letexier et al. (23) reported a reduction in hepatic lipogenesis together with a reduction in serum triacylglycerols in healthy subjects fed 10 g/d of inulin. A SCFA of colonic origin, and specifically of propionic acid, in the inhibition or down-regulation of liver lipogenic pathways has been suggested (35) but is still speculative. A second mechanism could be related to altered secretion of gastrointestinal hormones induced by the presence and/or fermentation of nutrients and fibers in the distal gut. Of some interest may be the finding that surgically induced malabsorption has a major impact on altered lipid metabolism that is not completely explained by a normalization in body weight. As an example, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for the treatment of morbid obesity is effective in reversing NAFLD and in normalizing VLDL-TG secretion rates in obese patients despite a final BMI still in the range of morbid obesity (41 ± 5) (36). Moreover, biliopancreatic diversion, a procedure that induces severe malabsorption, is able to reverse insulin resistance and normalize altered blood lipids much faster than gastric bypass and long before normalization of body weight (37). Bariatric surgery is also able to normalize the low levels of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) that can be seen in obese patients compared with normal-weight controls (38). In addition to the effect of weight loss, this might suggest a role of more distal absorption and/or of increased malabsorption of nutrients to the colon in regulating GLP-1 and other gastrointestinal peptides.
Recently, it has been shown that infusion of GLP-1 during the meal completely abolishes the rise in postprandial triglyceridemia in healthy volunteers (39).
Inulin and oligofructose increase colonic and portal GLP-1 levels in rats (40) and mice (41), and the addition of sodium propionate and fat to a pasta meal increases postprandial GLP-1 levels in normal volunteers (42). However, the addition of the less fermentable psyllium (42) and cereal (43,44) fibers to a meal does not modify postprandial GLP-1 levels, thus suggesting that the rate of fermentability of undigested carbohydrate and/or their SCFA profile could play a major role.
| FOOTNOTES |
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2 Author disclosure: F. Brighenti is member of the Beneo Scientific Committee. ORAFTI covered author's travel expenses to attend the 2006 ORAFTI Boston conference. ![]()
3 In these proceedings, the term inulin-type fructan shall be used as a generic term to cover all ß–(2
1) linear fructans. In any other circumstances that justify the identification of the oligomers vs. the polymers, the terms oligofructose and/or inulin or eventually long-chain or high-molecular-weight inulin will be used, respectively. Even though the oligomers obtained by partial hydrolysis of inulin or by enzymatic synthesis have a slightly different DPav (4 and 3.6, respectively), the term oligofructose shall be used to identify both. Synergy will be used to identify the 30/70 mixture (wt:wt) of oligofructose and inulin HP otherwise named oligofructose-enriched inulin. ![]()
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