title: Effects of a Dietary Supplement with Barley Sprout Extract on Blood Cholesterol Metabolism.
abstract: Objective. Barley sprout (Hordeum vulgare L.) contains 4.97% fat, 52.6% polysaccharide, and 34.1% protein along with a variety of vitamins, minerals, and polyphenolic compounds. Hexacosanol is one such compound from the barley leaf that might improve cholesterol metabolism by decreasing cholesterol synthesis. Method. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of barley sprout extract on serum lipid metabolism in healthy volunteers (n = 51). Subjects were randomly divided into two groups: one group consumed a single capsule of barley leaf extract daily (n = 25, 42.48 ± 13.58 years) and the other consumed placebo capsules (n = 26, 40.54 ± 11.1 years) for 12 weeks. Results. After 12 weeks, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein- (LDL-) cholesterol were not lower in the barley sprout extract group compared to the placebo group (p = 0.415 and p = 0.351, resp.) and no differences in clinical or laboratory findings were observed between both groups. Conclusion. Our study failed to show significant lipid-lowering effects of barley sprout extract, possibly due to dosage, duration of therapy, and small sample size. Despite our nonsignificant findings, barley sprout has a possibility as a functional health food; therefore future research is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Ewha Woman's University Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Woman's University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: A Ri
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Byun
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion Center, Ewha Woman's University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul 158-710, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyejin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Ewha Woman's University Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Woman's University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Ewha Woman's University Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Woman's University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Wha
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Ewha Woman's University Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Woman's University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hong Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Ewha Woman's University Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Woman's University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Won
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Shim