Cholesterol-lowering effect of barley bran flour and oil.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the effects of adding barley bran flour and a barley oil extract to a fat-modified diet on serum lipids in persons with hypercholesterolemia.


METHODS
The basic design of the study was a randomized, 30-day intervention trial. It included a neutral-fiber control group and a 1-week preintervention period for the collection of baseline data.


METHODS
The subjects were 79 men and women with hypercholesterolemia. Subjects had a mean age of 48.2 years, and all completed the study.


METHODS
All participants were instructed to follow the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) step 1 diet and were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: 20 g added cellulose, 3 g added barley oil extract, or 30 g added barley bran flour.


METHODS
Total serum cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were measured, along with serum triglycerides, before the intervention, at week 1, at week 3, and at the end of the intervention.


METHODS
Student's paired t test was used to detect significant changes within each treatment group from baseline to the end of the 30-day intervention. In addition, Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to detect significant correlations between the variables measured.


RESULTS
Addition of barley bran flour significantly (P = .0001) decreased total serum cholesterol (-0.60 mmol/L) as did addition of barley oil (-0.50 mmol/L; P = .002) after 30 days of intervention. Similarly, LDL-C decreased 6.5% with addition of barley bran flour (P = .036) and 9.2% with addition of barley oil (P = .003). Total serum cholesterol or LDL-C of the cellulose control group did not decrease significantly over the same period. HDL-C decreased significantly in the cellulose control group and the barley bran flour group (-0.15 mmol/L, P = .012, and -0.15 mmol/L, P = .006, respectively), but not in the barley oil group.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that addition of barley bran flour or barley oil enhances the cholesterol-lowering effect of the NCEP step 1 diet in individuals with hypercholesterolemia.
Lupton
J R
JR
Nutrition Faculty, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843-2471.
Robinson
M C
MC
Morin
J L
JL
D000328:Adult; D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I / Q000032:analysis; D053299:Apolipoprotein B-100; D001055:Apolipoproteins B / Q000032:analysis; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005433:Flour; D001467:Hordeum; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000178:diet therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I; D053299:Apolipoprotein B-100; D001055:Apolipoproteins B; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D010938:Plant Oils; D014280:Triglycerides; C078017:barley oil; D002784:Cholesterol