Effect of Oat Bio-actives on Cardiometabolic Related Variables in Humans

Abstract: Consumers are becoming interested in oats as a healthy food. Several studies have investigated the impact of oats components on human metabolism. The purpose of this project is to study the influence of oat polar lipids on human cardiometabolic variables, which focused on four cardiometabolic variables, these were postprandial responses of glucose, insulin, cortisol, and subjective appetite variables. A randomized cross-over human study in 20 healthy subjects was conducted, in which subjects were assigned to consume test or reference breakfasts in random order. Test breakfasts consisted of white wheat bread (WWB) with spreads consisted of oat lipids containing 15 g polar lipids (OL), rapeseed oils (Raps), and a mixture of oat lipids (8.3 g) and rapeseeds oil (Mix). A plain WWB without lipids was included as a reference breakfast. All test breakfast contained similar amounts of lipids. Cardiometabolic test variables were determined at different times postprandially. The results showed that OL resulted in the lowest increase in concentrations of glucose and insulin after breakfast. The effect of oat polar lipids on cortisol wasn't statistically significant, however, this could be due to too few test subjects included in the study. Three appetite related variables: fullness, hunger, and desire to eat, were also measured. OL resulted in the lowest ratings of hunger and desire to eat. It is concluded that oat polar lipids are effective in decreasing postprandial blood glucose and insulin concentrations. At the same time, OL also has a beneficial effect on appetite variables, indicated by increasing satiety and decreasing hunger. The results provide information regarding oat polar lipids as possible new bioactive compounds with preventive potential against obesity and type 2 diabetes.