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Pulses Consumption and Its Role in Managing Systemic Inflammation, Insulin Sensitivity and Gut Microbiome in Human

Understanding the Pulse-Gut Relationship and it's Role in Modifying Systemic Inflammation and Insulin Sensitivity in Humans

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04267705
Acronym
PS
Enrollment
103
Registered
2020-02-13
Start date
2020-02-24
Completion date
2027-01-30
Last updated
2026-08-28

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

Conditions

Inflammatory Response, Insulin Sensitivity, Overweight or Obesity

Keywords

Pulses, gut microbiota

Brief summary

Objective 1: Characterize indices of systemic inflammation and gut microbiota composition and function after chronic (12 weeks) intake of pulses compared to control diet in human OW/OB-IR participants. Objective 2: Characterize dietary- and microbial-derived metabolite pools after regular intake of pulses (12 weeks) in human participants with OW/OB-IR compared to control diet. Objective 3: Characterize cognitive functioning after chronic (12 weeks) intake of pulses compared to control diet in human OW/OB-IR participants.

Detailed description

The proposed study will be conducted in humans according to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines. All subjects will review and sign an Informed Consent Form approved by the Illinois Institute of Technology's Institutional Review Boards (IRB) prior to screening. The proposed study is a randomized, 3-arm, parallel, placebo-controlled design to investigate the effects of pulses consumption compared to non-pulse foods on indices of systemic inflammation and gut microbiota composition and function over a 12-week period. Potential changes in cognition will also be assessed. The study will test 3 treatment conditions in overweight (OW)/obese (OB) human subjects with insulin resistant (IR). Eighty-three men and women will be recruited, aiming for a completer set of Sixty-six subjects. Participants will be randomized into one of the three study food intervention groups: 1. Control group, (n=22): This group will receive a cup of white rice 7 days/week over a 12-week period. 2. Black bean group, (n=22): This group will receive a cup of black bean 7 days/week over a 12-week period. 3. Chickpea group, (n=22): This group will receive a cup of chickpea 7 days/week over a 12-week period. Each subject will be asked to come for 1 Screening Visit, 4 biweekly food pick-up/compliance visits and 3 Test Day Visits (two of which will also include cognitive testing). The initial screening visit will provide subjects with their site-specific, IRB-approved informed consent document prior to the start of any study-related procedures. Following 1-week diet stabilization and wash in from anthocyanins and ellagitannins, eligible subjects will be randomized to receive 1 of 3 test treatments based on a randomization schedule. The three main Test Day visits will occur at week 0 (day 1; baseline), end of week 6 (mid-point) and at the end of week 12 (end-point). Cognitive testing will occur during the baseline Test Day at week 0, and again at end-point Test Day at week 12. Subjects will be given a breakfast meal before cognitive testing. Pick-up Visits will occur at week 2, 4, 8, and 10. Subjects will pick-up study foods receive dietary counseling, confirm diet compliance and have anthropometrics checked during pick-up visits. Each of the 3 Test Day Visits will last about 2.5-3 h (not including cognitive testing) and involve blood pressure (BP) measurements, anthropometric (weight, waist circumference; body composition) assessment, and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) will be performed. Urine and fecal samples will be collected to monitor modifications occurring in the metabolites during the supplementation. The two-Test Day Visits (baseline and end-point) will also include an additional 1-1.25 h of cognitive testing, for a total of 3.75-4.5 h of total subject time (as there will be a short break between OGTT and cognitive testing). Subjects will maintain daily food and GI-tract diary during the 12-week feeding trial. The diary will include questions about food intake and the condition of gastrointestinal tolerance and bowel function.

Interventions

OTHERControl

This group will receive a cup of rice 7 days/week over a 12-week period

OTHERBlack bean

This group will receive a cup of black bean7 days/week over a 12-week period

This group will receive a cup of chick pea 7 days/week over a 12-week period

Sponsors

Clinical Nutrition Research Center, Illinois Institute of Technology
Lead SponsorINDUSTRY
USDA Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center
CollaboratorFED

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)

Intervention model description

The proposed study is a randomized, 3-arm, parallel, placebo-controlled design

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Men or women, age 18 or older * BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 * Fasting blood glucose concentration between 100 mg/dL and 125 mg/dL at the screening visit * Nonsmokers (Past smokers can be allowed if they have abstinence for a minimum of 2 years) * Judged to be in good health on the basis of the medical history ie., no clinical evidence of cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, renal, gastrointestinal or hepatic disease * Not taking any medications that would interfere with outcomes of the study, i.e. lipid-lowering medications, anti-inflammatory drugs, dietary supplements, etc. * Able to provide informed consent * Able to comply and perform the procedures requested by the protocol (including dietary restrictions, consumption of study treatments, records of food diary and GI-tract questionnaire, sample collection procedures and study visit schedule) * Able to maintain the usual physical activity pattern * Able to abstain from alcohol consumption and avoid vigorous physical activity for 24 hours prior to and during the study visit

Exclusion criteria

* Men and women who smoke * Men and women with known or suspected intolerance, allergies or hypersensitivity to study foods or treatments * Men and women who have blood pressure \>160 mmHg (systolic)/100 mmHg (diastolic) at the screening visit * Men and women who have fasting blood glucose concentration \<100 or \>125 mg/dL at the screening visit * Men and women with documented vascular disease, e.g., heart failure, myocardial infarction, stroke, angina, related surgeries, etc. that, in the opinion of the investigator, could interfere with the interpretation of the study results * Men and women with cancer other than non-melanoma skin cancer in the previous 5 years * Men and women diagnosed with chronic constipation, diarrhea or other chronic gastrointestinal complaints (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome) * Women who are known to be pregnant or who are intending to become pregnant over the course of the study * Women who are lactating * Taking medication or dietary supplements that may interfere with the outcomes of the study; e.g., antioxidant supplement, anti-inflammation, lipid-lowering medication, blood pressure-lowering medication, etc... Subjects may choose to go off dietary supplements (requires 30 days washout); e.g., fish oil, probiotics, etc... * Men and women who have participated in prebiotics or laxative trial within 3 months prior to enrollment or any other clinical trial within 1 month * Major trauma or a surgical event within 2 months or longer depending on trauma or event and after consultation with PI. * Vegan or other extreme dietary regimens (e.g., Atkins diet, etc.) as judged by the investigator. * Taking the fiber supplements and/or on high fiber diets * Has used antibiotics within the previous 2 months * Had gastrointestinal barium opaque meal within 3 months * Has used prebiotics, probiotics, or drugs active on gastrointestinal motility, or a laxative of any class within 1 month * History of an eating disorder (e.g., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating) diagnosed by a health professional * Substance (alcohol or drug) abuse within the last 2 years * Excessive coffee and tea consumers (\> 4 cups/d) * Donated blood within last 3 months * Men and women who do excessive exercise regularly or are an athlete * Unstable weight: gained or lost weight +/- 5 kg (11 lbs) in previous 2 months * Women who are taking unstable dose and brand of hormonal contraceptives and/or stable dose and brand less than 6 months * Unusual working hours i.e., working overnight (e.g. 3rd shift)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Plasma biomarkers and measures of inflammation: Nrf2/ NF-κBBaseline to 12 weeksInvestigate Nrf2/ NF-κB activation in PBMC
Changes in plasma systemic and gut inflammatory markersBaseline to 12 weeksCollected plasma samples will be used to measure selected inflammatory markers (IL6, hs-CRP and TNF-α) using ELISA methods
Determination of GLP-2 in plasmaBaseline to 12 weeksAnalysis of GLP-2 will be done in plasma samples before and after chronic exposure to the study foods using enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) kit as per manufacturer's instructions.
Determination of TLR-2/4 gene expression in Human PBMCBaseline to 12 weeksDetermination of TLR-2/4 gene expression in Human PBMC using RT-PCR method
Gut inflammatory markers: Calprotectin, zonulin, and IgA in fecal samplesBaseline to 12 weeksThe concentration of calprotectin, zonulin, and IgA in fecal samples will be determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as per kit providers' instructions before and after chronic exposure to study foods.
Describe functional metagenomics alterations in gut microbiomeBaseline to 12 weeksFecal samples will be collected with standard collection kits and stored at -80°C until analysis. Metagenomic and transcriptomic analyses will be performed

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Characterize metabolite profilesBaseline to 12 weeksPolyphenolic metabolites (phenolic acids and derivatives components) will be identified and quantified in urine and plasma.Metabolites in samples will be identified and quantified using an Agilent 6550 iFunnel UHPLC-QTOF-MS and 6460 UHPLC-QQQ-MS, respectively.
Characterize bile acid metabolite poolBaseline to 12 weeksBile acids in plasma and fecal samples will be determined using UHPLC-QQQ-MS.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORIndika Edirisinghe, Ph.D

Illinois Insititute of Technology

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 29, 2026