Quantitative assessment of the effects of beta-glucan consumption on serum lipid profile and glucose level in hypercholesterolemic subjects

• Published in: Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases Vol. 25; no. 8; pp. 714 - 723
• Main Authors: Zhu, X., Sun, X., Wang, M., Zhang, C., Cao, Y., Mo, G., Liang, J., Zhu, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.08.2015
• Subjects: adverse effects; Avena - chemistry; barley; Beta-glucan; beta-glucans; beta-Glucans - administration & dosage; beta-Glucans - therapeutic use; Blood Glucose - drug effects; blood lipids; Cardiovascular; cardiovascular diseases; Cholesterol - blood; Cholesterol, LDL - blood; confidence interval; Dietary fiber; Dietary Fiber - administration & dosage; Female; glucose; high density lipoprotein cholesterol; Hordeum - chemistry; Humans; hypercholesterolemia; Hypercholesterolemia - blood; Hypercholesterolemia - diet therapy; Hypercholesterolemic; lipid content; Lipoproteins, HDL - blood; low density lipoprotein cholesterol; Male; Meta-analysis; metabolism; oats; patients; randomized clinical trials; risk; Serum lipids; Treatment Outcome; triacylglycerols; Triglycerides - blood; water solubility; Serum lipids; Dietary fiber; Beta-glucan; Hypercholesterolemic; Meta-analysis
• ISSN: 0939-4753; 1590-3729; 1590-3729
• DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2015.04.008

A growing body of evidence suggests that beta-glucan derived from oats or barley can reduce cardiovascular disease risk through reductions in serum lipids. However, the effects of beta-glucan on lipid changes in hypercholesterolemic patient groups are inconsistent. The objective of this study was to identify and quantify the effect of beta-glucan, a marker of water-soluble fiber, on various lipid parameters and glucose level in hypercholesterolemic subjects. We performed a comprehensive literature search to identify the relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effects of beta-glucan consumption in hypercholesterolemic subjects. Mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for net changes in lipid concentrations by using fixed-effects or random-effects models according to heterogeneity. Publication bias, sensitivity analysis and subgroup analyses were also performed. Seventeen eligible RCTs with 916 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled result showed that beta-glucan consumption in hypercholesterolemic population significantly lowered the total cholesterol (TC) (MD, −0.26 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.33 to −0.18; P < 0.00001) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol concentration (MD, −0.21 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.27 to −0.14; P < 0.00001). However, there were no significant differences in high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, triglycerides (TG) and glucose. No adverse effects were reported among the eligible trials. Our meta-analysis showed that beta-glucan consumption significantly decreased TC and LDL-cholesterol concentrations but did not affect TG, HDL-cholesterol, and glucose concentrations in hypercholesterolemic subjects. •This study was to evaluate the effect of beta-glucan on various lipid parameters in hypercholesterolemic subjects.•Beta-glucan consumption in hypercholesterolemic population significantly lowered the TC and LDL-cholesterol concentration.•No adverse effects were reported among the eligible trials.