ARS | Publication request: A nutrient-dense, high fiber, fruit-based supplement bar increases HDL, particularly large HDL, lowers homocysteine, and raises glutathione in a 2-week trial

Submitted to: Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: April 16, 2012
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Repository URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1096/FJ.11-201558
Citation: Mietus-Snyder, M.L., Shigenaga, M.K., Suh, J.H., Shenvi, S.V., Lal, A., Mchugh, T.H., Olson, D.A., Lilienstein, J., Krauss, R.M., Gildengoren, G., Mccann, J.C., Ames, B.N. 2012. A nutrient-dense, high fiber, fruit-based supplement bar increases HDL, particularly large HDL, lowers homocysteine, and raises glutathione in a 2-week trial. Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 26:000-000. DOI: 10.1096/FJ.11-201558.

Interpretive Summary: This research developed a new low calorie, high fiber, fruit based, nutrient dense health bar. A variety of healthy ingredients were used to make the bar including vitamins, minerals, fruit, fiber, and fatty acids. The bar was developed in collaboration with Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute. A human clinical trial was performed to test the health benefits of the bars. After consuming the bars for two weeks, improvements were observed in the lipoprotein content in the blood of the test subjects. This improvement is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease.

Technical Abstract: Dietary intake modulates disease risk, but little is known as to how components within food mixtures affect pathophysiology. Here, a low-calorie, high-fiber, fruit-based nutrient-dense bar of defined composition (e.g., vitamins/minerals, fruit polyphenolics, B-glucan, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) appropriate for deconstruction and mechanistic studies is described and evaluated in a pilot trial. The bar was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Changes in cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk biomarkers were measured after 2-weeks twice-daily consumption of the bar and compared against baseline control values in 25 generally healthy adults. Plasma HDL-cholesterol (HDL-c) increased 6.2% (p=0.001), due primarily to a 28% increase in large HDL (HDL-L) (p < 0.0001). Total plasma homocysteine (Hcy) decreased 19% (p=0.017), and glutathione (GSH) increased 20% (p = 0.011). Changes in these biomarkers are associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline, and improved antioxidant status. Changes in biomarkers linked to insulin resistance were not observed. A defined food-based supplement can, within 2-weeks, positively impact metabolic markers linked to disease in generally healthy individuals. These results lay the groundwork for mechanistic/deconstruction experiments aimed at identifying critical bar components and putative synergistic combinations responsible for observed effects.