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β-glucan from barley and its lipid-lowering capacity: a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 64, pages 1472–1480 (2010)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

To more precisely quantify the effect of barley β-glucan on blood lipid concentrations in humans and to examine the factors that could affect its efficacy.

Subjects/Methods:

Eleven eligible randomized clinical trials published from 1989 to 2008 were identified from nine databases. Weighted mean effect sizes were calculated for net differences in lipid profile using a random effect model (RevMan 4.2).

Results:

Overall, barley and β-glucan isolated from barley lowered total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations by 0.30 mmol/l (95% confidence interval (CI): −0.39 to −0.21, P<0.00001) and 0.27 mmol/l (95% CI: −0.34 to −0.20, P<0.00001), respectively, compared with control. The pattern of cholesterol-lowering action of barley in this analysis could not be viewed as a dose-dependent response. There were no significant subgroup differences by type of intervention and food matrix.

Conclusions:

Increased consumption of barely products should be considered as a dietary approach to reduce LDL cholesterol concentrations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Tracy Lee Exley, Stephen Capelle and Camille Rhymer for their assistance in literature search and systematic review. This study was supported by the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Alberta Barley Commission. The funders had no role in the design, analysis or interpretation of the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan

    S S AbuMweis

  2. Cereal Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

    S Jew & N P Ames

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  1. S S AbuMweis
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  2. S Jew
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  3. N P Ames
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Correspondence to N P Ames.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Contributors: SSA assessed the study quality, extracted data, performed statistical analysis, interpreted the results, and wrote and edited the paper. SJ was involved in literature search, electronic searches, study selection and quality assessment, data extraction and contributed to writing the paper. NA developed study concept, carried out initial study assessment and provided critical revision of the paper.

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AbuMweis, S., Jew, S. & Ames, N. β-glucan from barley and its lipid-lowering capacity: a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials. Eur J Clin Nutr 64, 1472–1480 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2010.178

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