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NECTAR Study: Nectar (Honey) Effects on Comfort, Thoughts, and Regularity

NECTAR Study: Nectar (Honey) Effects on Comfort, Thoughts, and Regularity

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04187950
Acronym
NECTAR
Enrollment
66
Registered
2019-12-05
Start date
2021-05-19
Completion date
2022-11-02
Last updated
2023-07-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cognition - Other, Gastrointestinal Dysfunction, Physiological Stress

Keywords

gastrointestinal transit time, mood, emotion

Brief summary

This study aims to test the central hypothesis that adding to the diet daily yogurt with honey provides beneficial effects on digestive health and subjective mood in healthy adults.

Detailed description

This clinical trial will be a randomized, controlled, double-blind, crossover study with two 2-week treatment conditions separated by at least a 4-week washout period between conditions. Participant flow through the study conditions will be counterbalanced. Participants will be randomly allocated to yogurt with honey first or control first. Before beginning the first intervention period, participants will undergo a 2-week lead-in period that is devoid of all supplemental and dietary probiotics, fermented dairy products, and fermented foods. Participants will be asked to refrain from consuming all supplemental and dietary probiotics, fermented dairy products, and fermented foods throughout the entire study.

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTYogurt with B. lactis and added honey

The intervention condition will utilize a commercially available yogurt (Activia) that contains Bifidobacterium animalis lactis DN-173 010/CNCM I-2494 (B. lactis). Participants will consume 170 g of yogurt with honey twice daily for 14 days.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTYogurt with heat-inactivated B. lactis and added cane sugar

The control condition will utilize a commercially available yogurt (Activia) following heat inactivation of the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis lactis DN-173 010/CNCM I-2494 (B. lactis). Participants will consume 170 g of the heat-inactivated yogurt with added cane sugar twice daily for 14 days.The added cane sugar will be an isocaloric amount to the honey.

Sponsors

National Honey Board
CollaboratorOTHER
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)

Masking description

Participants will be blinded to the order in which they receive the study treatments.

Intervention model description

Randomized, controlled, single-blind, crossover study with two 2-week treatment conditions separated by at least a 4-week washout period between conditions. Participant flow through the study conditions will be counterbalanced. Participants will be randomly allocated to yogurt with honey first or control first.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
22 Years to 64 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Males and females * Between the ages of 22-64 years at the time of consent * Body mass index of 18.5 to 29.9 kg/m\^2. * Normal or corrected-to-normal vision based on the minimal 20/20 standard in order to complete the cognitive task (below 20/20 vision). * Ability to drop off fecal sample within 30 minutes of defecation * Have between 3-6 bowel movements per week

Exclusion criteria

* Current pregnancy, lactation, or post-menopausal * Tobacco use * Honey allergy or intolerance * Dairy allergy, lactose intolerance * Food dye allergy/intolerance * Prior physician diagnosed gastrointestinal disease (chronic constipation, diarrhea, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis, stomach or duodenal ulcers, hepatitis, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)) * Current use or use of antibiotics in the past 3 months * Current use of any of the following types of medications: laxatives, anti-diarrhea medications, narcotics, enemas, antispasmodics, anticonvulsants, prescription proton pump inhibitors, prokinetic agents, histamine-2 Rc antagonists (prescription GERD medication) * Body mass index \> 29.9 kg/m\^2 * Prior malabsorptive bariatric surgery (i.e. gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy) * Restrictive bariatric surgery (i.e. adjustable gastric band) within the past 5 years * Concurrent enrollment in another dietary, exercise, or medication study

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Intestinal transit time measured using colored dye markers2 weeksDetermine the impact of consumption of daily yogurt with honey on intestinal transit time in vivo compared to control, yogurt containing heat-inactivated B.lactis with added sugar. Intestinal transit time will be measured using colored dye markers.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Digestive health measured using rating scales of additional symptoms in daily stool records2 weeksDetermine the impact of consumption of daily yogurt with honey on other measures of digestive health compared to control (yogurt containing heat-inactivated B. lactis) using daily stool records. Within the records, ratings of additional gastrointestinal symptoms include ease of passage, abdominal pain, bloating, burping, flatulence, nausea, reflux, and rumblings.
Digestive health measured using daily stool records with the Bristol Stool Scale2 weeksDetermine the impact of consumption of daily yogurt with honey on digestive health compared to control (yogurt containing heat-inactivated B. lactis) using daily stool records. Within the records, participants rate stool consistency using the Bristol Stool Scale.
Digestive health measured using the Gastrointestinal Tolerability questionnaire2 weeksDetermine the impact of consumption of daily yogurt with honey on other measures of digestive health compared to control (yogurt containing heat-inactivated B. lactis) using the Gastrointestinal Tolerability questionnaire. This questionnaire assesses gastrointestinal health through 6 questions related to gastrointestinal health including nausea, bloating, rumblings, gas/flatulence, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Each of the questions pertains to experience of symptoms in the past 7 days.
Digestive health measured using the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) questionnaire2 weeksDetermine the impact of consumption of daily yogurt with honey on other measures of digestive health compared to control (yogurt containing heat-inactivated B. lactis) using the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) questionnaire. The GIQLI assesses gastrointestinal health through a series of 36 questions pertaining to daily life and gastrointestinal symptoms experienced in the past 2 weeks.
Gastrointestinal microbiota assessed using relative abundances2 weeksDetermine the impact of daily consumption of yogurt with honey on the gastrointestinal microbiota compared to control (yogurt containing heat-inactivated B. lactis). Relative abundances of the gastrointestinal microbiota will be measured with 16S amplicon sequencing.
Mood measured using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) questionnaire2 weeksDetermine the impact of consumption of daily yogurt with honey on mood states compared to control (yogurt containing heat-inactivated B. lactis) using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) questionnaire. The PANAS assesses general mood using a 20-item scale that includes words associated with either positive (10 words) or negative (10 words) emotions.
Mood measured using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-42 (DASS-42) questionnaire2 weeksDetermine the impact of consumption of daily yogurt with honey on mood states compared to control (yogurt containing heat-inactivated B. lactis) using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-42 (DASS-42) questionnaire. The DASS-42 includes subscales with 42 questions regarding negative emotional states and is used to assess mental health over the past week.
Mood measured using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) questionnaires2 weeksDetermine the impact of consumption of daily yogurt with honey on mood states compared to control (yogurt containing heat-inactivated B. lactis) using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) questionnaires. Specific PROMIS questionnaires utilized included PROMIS SF v1.0 - Anger 8a, PROMIS SF v1.0 - Anxiety 8a, PROMIS SF v1.0 - Fatigue 8a, PROMIS SF v1.0 - Positive Affect 15a, PROMIS SF v1.0 - Self-Efficacy Manage Emotions 8a, PROMIS SF v1.0 - Fatigue 13a (FACIT-Fatigue), PROMIS SF v1.1 - Global Health, and PROMIS SF v2.0 - Cognitive Function 8a. PROMIS. Surveys were scored using the recommended HealthMeasures Scoring Service.
Cognitive function assessed using the Spatial Reconstruction Task2 weeksDetermine the impact of consumption of daily yogurt with honey on cognitive function compared to control (yogurt containing heat-inactivated B. lactis) using the Spatial Reconstruction Task. This task requires participants to successfully encode and retrieve information pertaining to the position of six objects in relation to each other, necessitating recruitment of the hippocampal memory system.
Mood measured using the Emotional Image Task2 weeksDetermine the impact of consumption of daily yogurt with honey on mood states compared to control (yogurt containing heat-inactivated B. lactis) using the Emotional Image Task. This task measures response to neutral, positive, and negative image stimuli using participant valence, arousal, and dominance ratings.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 7, 2026