Increasing Ferulic Acid Bioavailability in Bran

August 7, 2018 updated by: Maastricht University Medical Center

The Effect of Pre-treatment of Bran on the Bioavailability of Ferulic Acid and Other Bioactive Compounds From Wholegrain Breads Enriched in Bran

The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of pretreatment of bran on improving the bioavailability of ferulic acid in wholegrain breads containing bran. As secondary endpoints we will investigate the changes in plasmatic antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory effects, colonic metabolites from ferulic acid and short chain fatty acids (SCFA).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Rationale: Whole grain consumption has been associated with a lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some type of cancers. Whole grain is a good source of antioxidant compounds such as ferulic acid, which has been considered its major antioxidant. Ferulic acid is also the major phenolic compound in wheat grain, it is mainly located in the bran, more precisely in the cell walls of the aleurone layer and overall bran layers. Most of the ferulic acid is covalently bound to the indigestible cell wall polysaccharides, which limits the bioavailability of ferulic acid from cereal products to the merely form of free ferulic acid.

Processing possibilities in the development of cereal products might be used to optimize the bioavailability of ferulic acid in humans and the possible health effect of the wholegrain product.

An innovative processing in bread making has been developed. The processing consisted of pretreatments of the bran with an enzymatic mixture and yeast fermentation before its incorporation into the dough. The impact on the in vitro assessed bioavailability of ferulic acid was a 5-fold increase over the normal bran enriched wholegrain bread in a gastrointestinal model. Therefore in our study we will compare the kinetics and total bioavailability of ferulic acid from wholegrain breads enriched in native or pretreated bran. Furthermore, the colonic metabolism of ferulic acid and overall major colonic metabolites such as short chain fatty acids (SCFA) will be studied. Finally, total antioxidant capacity and ex vivo inflammatory responses will be investigated in order to determine the effect of the pretreatment of on the immunomodulatory properties of bran.

Objective: The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of pretreatment of bran on improving the bioavailability of ferulic acid. As secondary endpoints we will investigate the changes in plasmatic antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory effects, colonic metabolites from ferulic acid and short chain fatty acids (SCFA).

Study design: Blind, cross-over, randomised design. Wash-out period of one week. Three days of low antioxidant diet. Standardised meal low in phenolic and antioxidant compounds will be consumed the evening before the trial.

Study population: Healthy male volunteers, > 18 yr old, BMI between 20 and 30. Intervention: Consumption of 300 g of wholegrain enriched with native or pretreated bran.

Main study parameters/endpoints: Ferulic acid and other phenolic acids (sinapic acid, p-coumaric acid), total antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory effects, colonic metabolites derived from ferulic acid and SCFA.

Nature and extent of the burden and risks associated with participation, benefit and group relatedness: Each volunteer will participate in the study on two separate occasions (each test will take approximately 24 hours). Blood will be drawn at different time points via a catheter (in total 156 ml per test-day) and a 24-hour urine sample will be collected. Participants are asked to consume a standardised meal the evening before each of the two test-days and the evening of the intervention day. Volunteers are instructed not to consume any wholegrain or bran containing products, nuts and seeds, antioxidant supplements or beverages high in phenolic compounds or any phenolic rich food for 3 days before each of the three trials. Subjects are asked to record their food intake for 3 days before each of the trials. All the ingredients used in the bread baking are safe for human consumption. The bread is consumed once at the beginning of the test. The volunteers will not benefit from the study. The major risk of the study is the amount of blood take from the volunteer and this risk is limited.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

8

Phase

  • 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

  • Netherlands
      • Maastricht, Netherlands, 6200 MD
        • University of Maastricht

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

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy males
  • Age > 18
  • 20 < BMI < 30

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Use of any medication
  • Smoking
  • Consumption of 3 or more glasses of alcoholic drinks per day
  • Donation of more than 500 ml blood (<6 months prior to the start of the study)
  • Vegetarian lifestyle (because the standardised meal contains meat)
  • Allergic reaction to some component in cereals e.g. celiac subjects

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Control
The control is the wholegrain bread enriched with bran that has not been pretreated.
Other: ferulic acid
Ferulic acid is naturally contained in wholegrain bread. Bran is the main source of ferulic acid while is low in white flour. Ferulic acid is mainly covalently bound to fiber and low bioaccessible. The bran is pretreated to increase the bioavailability of ferulic acid by increasing the free ferulic acid released from the food matrix.
Other Names:
  • Wholegrain bread
  • Bran
  • 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid
Dietary supplement: wholegrain bread
The control is the wholegrain bread enriched with bran that has not been pretreated
Experimental: Treated bran bread
This is a wholegrain bread enriched with bran that has been pretreated with food-grade enzymes and yeast fermentation
Other: ferulic acid
Ferulic acid is naturally contained in wholegrain bread. Bran is the main source of ferulic acid while is low in white flour. Ferulic acid is mainly covalently bound to fiber and low bioaccessible. The bran is pretreated to increase the bioavailability of ferulic acid by increasing the free ferulic acid released from the food matrix.
Other Names:
  • Wholegrain bread
  • Bran
  • 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid
Dietary supplement: Treated bran bread
This is a wholegrain bread enriched with bran that has been pretreated with food-grade enzymes and yeast fermentation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Ferulic acid is measured in plasma to determine maximal concentration (Cmax), time-point of Cmax (tmax) and area under the curve (AUC). Ferulic acid is also measured in 24-hour urine sample to determine its excretion.
Time Frame: 24 h
24 h

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Colonic metabolites derived from ferulic acid, short chain fatty acids and antioxidant capacity are measured in plasma to determine their relation with the plasma levels of ferulic acid. Cytokines will be measured in ex vivo LPS stimulated blood.
Time Frame: 24 h
24 h

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Maastricht University Medical Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Aalt Bast, Professor, Universit of Maastricht

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 (Actual)

November 1, 2008

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 16, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 21, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

October 22, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 9, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 7, 2018

Last Verified

November 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 08-3-079
  • NL26116.068.08

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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