Intermittent Cottonseed Oil Consumption

Intermittent Cottonseed Oil Consumption on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction

Cardiovascular disease risk factors, including higher BMIs and poor cholesterol profiles, are on the rise and contribute to the United States' growing disease burden. Cottonseed oil (CSO) is found readily in the food supply, and the investigator's previous studies have demonstrated that incorporating CSO into the diet is sufficient to improve fasting and postprandial blood lipids and other markers of chronic disease risk in both healthy and at-risk populations. This study aims to examine the impact of intermittent CSO consumption at different doses (consumed three times per week (3x/wk)) on changes in fasting and postprandial lipid metabolism/blood lipids and markers of chronic disease risk.

The specific aims are: *Examine the impact of intermittent CSO consumption (3x/week) at two different doses on fasting and postprandial lipids. *Examine the impact of intermittent CSO consumption (3x/week) at two different doses on other markers of chronic disease risk.

Participants will be asked to:

*Consume provided meal replacement shakes and snacks 3 times per week for 56 days. *Attend three bi-weekly (every other week) short visits for fasting blood draws, body measurements, and collection of the next two weeks' study materials. *Attend two longer (5.5h) testing visits, which include eating a standardized breakfast meal and having blood drawn periodically before and after breakfast.

Researchers will compare CSO-30, CSO-20, and Control groups (receiving no oil) to see if intermittent CSO consumption imparts the same health benefits as previously shown with daily doses of CSO.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Dyslipidemia; Overweight and Obesity; Nutrition, Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: CSO-30; Other: CSO-20; Other: Control

Detailed Description

Accounting for nearly 1 in every 4 deaths in the U.S., cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for adults. One risk factor for CVD is hypercholesterolemia, which can double the risk for this disease. Cottonseed oil is a rich source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Despite having a relatively high amount of saturated fatty acids, preliminary studies demonstrate that incorporating CSO into a diet at 30% and 20% of daily energy needs is sufficient to reduce blood lipid profiles and select postprandial measures of metabolism. These improvements in lipid metabolism may be due to the general fatty acid (FA) composition of CSO; however, evidence shows that a fatty acid unique to CSO, dihydrosterculic acid (DHSA), may be responsible for some, if not all, of the positive lipid lowering effects.

This prospective clinical study is a double-blinded, randomized control trial in adults at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (poor cholesterol profiles and/or overweight/obesity). There are three diet interventions: CSO-30 (30% of energy needs from CSO), CSO-20 (20% of energy needs from CSO), and Control (not receiving CSO; will receive thickened water with yellow food coloring to mimic the appearance of oil). The study protocol consists of a 56-day intervention where participants are provided breakfast shakes and snacks that contain different amounts of oil, depending on the participant's random group assignment.

There are a total of 6 testing visits: screening (v0), pre-intervention (v1), 3 bi-weekly (every other week) short visits (v2, v3, v4), and post-intervention (v5).

At screening (v0), qualification is confirmed based on anthropometrics and a fasting blood draw, which is analyzed for a cholesterol panel and blood glucose. Additionally, energy requirements are estimated at this visit for use in the diet intervention.

At v1, participants will have anthropometrics measured, including body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Fasting and postprandial blood draws for a 5h period will occur following a high saturated-fat meal challenge which delivers 35% of the participant's estimated energy needs.

56-day dietary intervention: Participants will consume a shake and snack 3 times per week, corresponding to the participant's randomly assigned group. The ingredients for the breakfast shakes and snacks are identical between groups, the only difference being the amount of assigned oil provided. The breakfast shakes and snacks are portioned based on individual energy needs as estimated at v0.

Participants return every other week (v2, v3, v4), to return study materials and collect shakes and snacks for the next two weeks. At these bi-weekly visits, participants also have a fasting blood draw and body measures taken.

At the end of the 56-day dietary intervention, participants return for v5, where all procedures from v1 are repeated.

As decided a priori, we will complete a per protocol analysis.

The investigators hypothesize that CSO-30 and CSO-20 will improve the proposed overall health outcomes and markers of chronic disease risk without changing inflammatory markers or coagulation potential compared to the control group.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 75
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Jamie Cooper, PhD; Phone Number: 706-542-4378; Email: jamie.cooper@uga.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Georgia
    • Athens, Georgia, United States, 30602
      • Recruiting
      • University of Georgia
      • Contact: Jamie A Cooper, PhD; Phone Number: 706-542-4378; Email: jamie.cooper@uga.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Jamie A Cooper, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 25-75 year-old men and women at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Increased risk for cardiovascular disease will be defined by either elevated cholesterol profiles -or- overweight/obesity.
• Elevated cholesterol profiles will be defined as:
• "Borderline High" and/or "at risk" in two of more of the following variables (total cholesterol: 180-239 mg/dL, LDL cholesterol 110-159 mg/dL, triglycerides 130-199 mg/dL) --or--
• "High" in total cholesterol (240 mg/dL and higher), LDL (160 mg/dL or higher), or triglycerides (between 200-350 mg/dL).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Probable familial hypercholesterolemia, defined by: total cholesterol greater than 290 mg/dL or LDL levels greater than 190 mg/dL plus a family history of myocardial infarction (MI) before 50 years of age in a 2nd-degree relative or below age 60 in a 1st-degree relative.
• Women on hormone replacement therapy less than 2 years.
• Women who are pregnant or nursing/breastfeeding
• individuals who regularly exercise more than 3h/w
• weight gain or loss of more than 5% body weight in the past 3 months
• plans to begin a weight loss/exercise regimen during the trial
• history of medical or surgical events that could affect digestion or swallowing
• gastrointestinal surgeries, conditions, or disorders
• any chronic diseases (including moderate to severe asthma, chronic lung disease, and kidney disease),
• metabolic disease
• atherosclerosis
• previous MI or stroke
• cancer
• fasting blood glucose levels greater than 126 mg/dL
• blood pressure greater than 180/120 mmHg
• medication use affecting digestion, absorption, or metabolism (e.g. thyroid meds), lipid-lowering medications, medications for diabetes, steroid/hormone therapies, or current antibiotic cycles
• medically prescribed or special diets
• Food allergies (specific to the foods in the study, including soy, dairy, gluten, Yellow No. 5, cottonseed oil, palm oil, and coconut oil)
• fish oil supplements
• excessive alcohol use (greater than 3 drinks/day for men; greater than 2 drinks/day for women)
• tobacco or nicotine use
• underweight BMI (<18.5 kg/m²)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: CSO-30; Participants are given foods enriched with cottonseed oil and instructed on how to substitute provided study foods into usual diet to maintain caloric balance.	Other: CSO-30; Participants are provided a breakfast shake and snack to consume 3 times per week that meets 30% of participant's daily estimated energy needs as cottonseed oil for 56 days.
Experimental: CSO-20; Participants are given foods enriched with cottonseed oil and instructed on how to substitute provided study foods into usual diet to maintain caloric balance.	Other: CSO-20; Participants are provided a breakfast shake and snack to consume 3 times per week that meets 20% of participant's daily estimated energy needs as cottonseed oil for 56 days.
Placebo Comparator: Control; Participants are given foods void of cottonseed oil and instructed on how to substitute provided study foods into usual diet to maintain caloric balance.	Other: Control; Participants are provided a breakfast shake and snack to consume 3 times per week that does not contain cottonseed oil, but does contain thickened water for blinding purposes, for 56 days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in fasting serum lipoprotein and cholesterol concentrations	The concentration of fasting serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, cholesterol/HDL ratio, and non-HDL cholesterol (mg/dL)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting and postprandial plasma triglyceride concentrations	The concentration of plasma triglycerides before and after the high saturated fat meal challenge at both pre-and post-intervention visits (mg/dL)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting and postprandial plasma non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations	The concentration of plasma NEFAs before and after the high saturated fat meal challenge at both pre- and post-intervention visits (mEq/L)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting and postprandial plasma appetite control hormone concentrations	The concentration of plasma appetite control hormones before and after the high saturated fat meal challenge at both pre- and post-intervention visits. Appetite control hormones include cholecystokinin (CCK), Peptide YY (PYY), and Ghrelin (pg/mL)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting and postprandial subjective feelings related to appetite	Visual analog scale ratings of feelings related to appetite before and after the high saturated fat meal challenge, and for the remainder of the day, at both pre- and post-intervention visits. Subjective feelings of hunger, fullness, desire to eat, prospective consumption, and a composite appetite score are measured by visual analog scales (mm).	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting and postprandial plasma Malondialdehyde (MDA)	The concentration of MDA before and after the high saturated fat meal challenge at both pre- and post-intervention visits (nmol/mL).	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting and postprandial plasma total antioxidant capacity	Total antioxidant capacity before and after the high saturated fat meal challenge at both pre- and post-intervention visits (U/mL).	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting inflammatory cytokine concentrations	The concentration of interleukin-1 beta, C-reactive protein, tumor-necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-10, and interleukin-6 at fasting at both pre-and post-intervention visits (pg/mL).	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting plasma markers of coagulation potential	The concentration of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, fibrinogen, and tissue factor at fasting for both pre- and post-intervention visits (pg/mL)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting and postprandial plasma angiopoietin-like (ANGPTL) proteins	The concentration of ANGPTL 3, ANGPTL 4, and ANGPTL 8 before and after the high saturated fat meal challenge at both pre- and post-intervention visits (ng/mL)	baseline, 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in fasting serum hepatic enzymes	Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (U/L)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting serum hepatic proteins	Total protein and albumin (g/dL)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting serum bilirubin	Total bilirubin, direct bilirubin and indirect bilirubin (mg/dL)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting and postprandial plasma insulin concentrations	The concentration of plasma insulin before and after the high saturated fat meal challenge at both pre- and post- intervention visits (uU/mL)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting and postprandial plasma glucose concentrations	The concentration of plasma glucose before and after the high saturated fat meal challenge at both pre- and post- intervention visits (mg/dL)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in additional fasting plasma markers of coagulation potential	The concentration of Von Willebrand factor, tissue factor pathway inhibitor, and D-dimer at fasting for both pre- and post-intervention visits (pg/mL)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in acute dietary intake	One-day food logs will be used to record all foods and beverages consumed on testing days	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in fasting insulin resistance metrics	Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and homeostatic model assessment for beta cell function (HOMA-B) will be calculated from fasting insulin and glucose measures before and after the 56-day intervention.	baseline, 8 weeks
Desaturation index	Measurement of fatty acid concentrations for fasting and post-prandial plasma (ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids)	baseline, 8 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in body weight	body weight (kg)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in blood pressure	Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in body composition	DXA will be used to measure body fat percentage (body fat %)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in diet composition	3-day food records will be used to record foods and beverages consumed before and during the 56-day intervention period	baseline, week 4, week 8
Change in fasting tocopherol concentrations	Plasma tocopherol concentrations (ug/mL)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in anthropometric circumferences	hip and waist circumferences (cm)	baseline, 8 weeks
Resting metabolic rate	Resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be measured for 30 minutes on the TrueOne 2400 (Parvo Medics, Sandy, UT)	Screening
Change in Perceived Stress	Perceived Stress Scale will be administered and scored to determine stress levels	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in anxiety	The State Trait Anxiety Inventory will be administered and scored to determine anxiety levels	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in self reported physical activity levels	The International Physical Activity Questionnaire will be used to collect self-reported average physical activity levels (met/min)	baseline, week 4, week 8
Change in Body Mass Index (BMI)	BMI will be calculated based on height and weight measures (kg/m²)	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in highly processed food (HPF) consumption	The Screening Questionnaire of Highly Processed Food Consumption (sQ-HPF) will be administered and scored to determine HPF consumption	baseline, 8 weeks
Change in pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory food consumption	The Anti-Inflammatory Diet Index-20 (AIDI-20) Inspired Questionnaire will be administered and scored to determine pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory food consumption	baseline, 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Georgia
• Collaborators: Cotton Incorporated
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jamie Cooper, PhD, University of Georgia

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 16, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 13, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 17, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): November 24, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 23, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 21, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nutrition Disorders; Metabolic Diseases; Overnutrition; Body Weight; Lipid Metabolism Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Overweight; Obesity; Dyslipidemias
• Other Study ID Numbers: PROJECT00013264

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No