Nutraceutical: Beta-glucan drink

Indication: LDL cholesterol

Source: Am J Clin Nutr, March 2006;

83(3):601-605.

Research: Investigators set out to examine the effects of a beta-glucan–enriched fruit juice on serum lipids and lipoproteins and on markers of cholesterol absorption (serum concentrations of plant sterols) and synthesis (serum concentrations of lathosterol). In addition, they measured effects on lipid-soluble antioxidants. The study population consisted of 47 volunteers who all started the study by drinking 500 ml of a rice starch-enriched (placebo) fruit drink every day for three weeks. After this period, they were randomly assigned to either the placebo group or the group consuming the beta-glucan drink for five weeks.

Results: The differences between the control and beta-glucan groups in the change in serum concentrations of total and LDL cholesterol, respectively, were nearly -5% and -8%. The differences between the groups in the change in serum concentrations of lathosterol and sitosterol were -13% and -11%, re-spectively. No significant effects were found on fat-soluble antioxidants. Researchers concluded that beta-glucan lowers serum concentrations of total and LDL cholesterol when incorporated into a fruit drink. Further, they said reduced cholesterol absorption contributes to the cholesterol-lowering effect of beta-glucan without affecting plasma concentrations of lipid-soluble antioxidants.

Nutraceutical: Enterolactone (a lignan metabolite)

Indication: Prostate health

Source: Cancer Causes & Control, March 2006;17(2):169-80.

Research: Based on evidence that phytoestrogens may protect against pro-state cancer, researchers evaluated the associations between serum enterolactone concentration or dietary phytoestrogen intake and risk of prostate cancer. Using a Swedish population-based case-control study, questionnaire-data were available for 1499 prostate cancer cases and 1130 controls, with serum enterolactone levels in a sub-group of 209 cases and 214 controls.

Results: High intake of food items rich in phytoestrogens was associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer. In contrast, researchers found no association between dietary intake of total or individual lignans or isoflavonoids and risk of prostate cancer. However, serum levels of enterolactone were associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer.

Nutraceutical: Folate

Indication: Pancreatic cancer

Source: J Natl Can Inst, March 15, 2006;98(6):407-413.

Research: Epidemiologic evidence supports an association between high folate intake and reduced risk of some cancers, in particular colorectal cancer. However, epidemiologic data concerning the relationship between folate and pancreatic cancer risk are sparse. So researchers decided to examine the association between folate intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer in a population-based prospective study of Swedish women and men. As such, researchers prospectively followed 81,922 women and men in the Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish Men who were cancer-free and completed a 96-item food-frequency questionnaire in 1997.

Results: After almost seven years of follow-up, a total of 135 incident pancreatic cancer cases were diagnosed. In multivariable analyses controlling for age, smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption, and other potential confounders, dietary and total folate intakes were inversely associated with risk of pancreatic cancer. Folic acid from supplements, however, was not associated with pancreatic cancer. These findings led researchers to conclude that increased intake of folate from food sources, but not from supplements, may be associated with a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer.

Nutraceutical: Soy protein/isoflavones

Indication: Cardiovascular disease

Source: Am J Clin Nutr, February, 2006;

83(2):244-51.

Research: Previous research supports a role for soy protein in reducing serum lipids; however, few studies involved healthy male subjects or focused on soy isoflavones (or did both). The objective of this study was to ascertain the effects of soy protein varying in isoflavone content on serum lipids in healthy young men. Thirty-five males in their 20’s and 30’s consumed either a milk protein isolate (MPI), low-isoflavone soy protein isolate (low-iso SPI; 1.64 +/- 0.19 mg aglycone isoflavones per day), or a high-isoflavone SPI (high-iso SPI; 61.7 +/- 7.4 mg aglycone isoflavones per day) for 57 days each, separated by four-week washout periods, in a randomized cross-over design. Blood samples were collected at the beginning and end of each treatment period, and total, LDL and HDL cholesterol; triacylglycerols; apolipoprotein (apo) B; apo A-I; and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured in serum. Twenty-four hour urine samples were collected for three consecutive days at the end of each treatment period and analyzed for isoflavones.

Results: Urinary isoflavones were significantly greater with consumption of the high-iso SPI than with that of the low-iso SPI or MPI. The differences between the three treatments with respect to individual serum lip-ids were not significant, but the ratios of total to HDL cholesterol, LDL to HDL cholesterol, and apo B to apo A-I were significantly lower with both SPI treatments than with MPI treatment. Therefore, researchers concluded that soy protein, regardless of iso-flavone content, modulates serum lip-id ratios in a direction beneficial for cardiovascular disease risk in healthy young men.