Randomized Control Trial of L-Alanine and Placebo in Fructose Intolerance

April 13, 2020 updated by: Satish Rao, Augusta University

Investigation of Supplemental L-alanine in the Management of Dietary Fructose Intolerance: a Double-blind, Randomized Crossover Study

Data suggest that alanine may facilitate the intestinal absorption of fructose in patients with DFI and thereby may decrease GI symptoms.

We hypothesize that the ingestion of supplemental L-alanine along with mixed meals or snacks that contain foods with free fructose or high fructose content will decrease GI symptoms in subjects with dietary fructose intolerance by facilitating intestinal absorption of fructose.

Aim: To investigate the effects of co- administration of equi-molar doses of L-alanine or placebo on the occurrence of GI symptoms in subjects with dietary fructose intolerance, in a randomized, double blind, cross over study.

Methods: We propose to investigate the effects of co-administration of equi-molar doses of L-alanine or placebo on the occurrence of GI symptoms in 70 subjects with dietary fructose intolerance, in a randomized, double blind, cross over study.

Data Analysis: The primary outcome measure will be a comparison of baseline breath sample values and study visit breath sample values. Additionally, we will assess subject-reported occurence and severity of nine gastrointestinal symptoms during the test on a visual analog scale (VAS).

Expected Results: We anticipate that dietary fructose intolerance (DFI) symptoms will improve with ingestion of supplemental L-alanine (along with foods containing free fructose or high fructose content). We additionally expect treatment of DFI with administration of L-alanine powder to be more practical than co-ingestion of alanine-rich foods, and more convenient for patients.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
15

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Iowa
      • Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52246
        • University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age between 18-99 years
  2. Diagnosis of fructose malabsorption (positive breath test after ingestion of 25 grams of fructose defined as either (a) ≥ 20 ppm rise of breath H2/CH4/both over baseline values or a successive rise of ≥ 5 ppm over baseline and in 3 consecutive breath samples)

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Cognitive impairment or any other inability to provide informed consent
  2. Prisoners
  3. GI surgery except appendectomy, cholecystectomy, caesarean section, hysterectomy
  4. Antibiotics in the previous 6 weeks
  5. History of bacterial overgrowth or lactose intolerance
  6. Major co-morbid illnesses, including chronic pancreatitis, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, scleroderma, pseudo-obstruction syndromes etc.
  7. Known food allergies
  8. Medication use: opioids, Tegaserod, laxatives, enemas
  9. An allergy or intolerance to any fiber supplements or other dietary nutritional supplements such as: psyllium (Metamucil), Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, and methylcellulose (Citrucel).
  10. Difficulty swallowing

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: L-alanine
Subjects will consume l-alanine prior to eating fructose-containing foods.
Dietary supplement: supplemental L-alanine
Subjects will consume l-alanine prior to eating fructose-containing foods.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Subjects will consume the placebo prior to eating fructose-containing foods.
Dietary supplement: Metamucil
Subjects will consume the placebo prior to eating fructose-containing foods.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
GI symptom score
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Change in GI symptom score with alanine & placebo, when compared to the baseline
4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Fructose consumption
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Estimated daily consumption of fructose during the alanine & placebo phases, when compared to baseline using prospective food diaries
4 weeks
Breath hydrogen and methane
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Changes in Breath hydrogen and/or methane values with Alanine and Placebo when compared with baseline
4 weeks
Quality of life (SF-12)
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Changes in SF-12 scores between baseline and after alanine and placebo
4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Augusta University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 31, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 31, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 2, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 15, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 13, 2020

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Long Term Fructose

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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