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The Effects of Dietary Erythritol on Platelet Reactivity and Vascular Inflammation

Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial to Gauge the Effects of Dietary Erythritol on Platelet Reactivity and Vascular Inflammation

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05967741
Acronym
EASI
Enrollment
24
Registered
2023-08-01
Start date
2023-07-20
Completion date
2026-06-30
Last updated
2025-12-05

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

Conditions

Platelet Aggregation, Spontaneous, Vascular Thrombosis

Keywords

platelet activation, vascular inflammation, erythritol, aspartame, dietary intervention

Brief summary

The purpose is to conduct a dietary intervention study in which human participants will consume beverages sweetened with erythritol or aspartame, each for 2 weeks, in a randomized crossover design

Detailed description

There is a strong correlation between plasma erythritol concentrations and adverse cardiovascular events in high risk individuals. It has also been demonstrated that consumption of dietary erythritol leads to high levels of plasma erythritol. There is in vitro evidence that erythritol at comparable concentrations promotes platelet activation. However, there is no direct evidence that links human consumption of erythritol with the onset of platelet activation and adhesion leading to inflammation. The investigators seek to fill this evidence gap by conducting a randomized crossover dietary intervention study in which human participants will consume beverages sweetened with erythritol or aspartame, each for two weeks.

Interventions

Erythritol is a naturally occurring and non-nutritive sugar alcohol that is classified as generally recognized as safe (GRAS)

Aspartame consists of two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, and a methyl group. It does not have metabolic effects and has served as the blinded control beverage in the investigators' completed NIH-funded clinical trials.

Sponsors

University of California, Davis
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Experimental and control beverage are formulated to be similar color, taste and volume.

Intervention model description

Randomized crossover study with 2-week washout

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2

Exclusion criteria

* • History of blood clot, transient ischemic attack (TIA), stroke, angina, heart attack, or peripheral vascular disease, or current cancer diagnosis. * Pregnant or lactating women * Current, prior (within 12 months), or anticipated use of medications for treatment of hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure or diabetes, or any medication that in the opinion of the investigators will confound results. * Unwilling to forego the use of anti-inflammatory medication during study. * Unwilling to forego the use of marijuana during the study. * Use of tobacco. * Strenuous exerciser (\>4 hours/week at a level more vigorous than walking). * Surgery or medication for weight loss. * Diet exclusions: Food allergies or dietary restrictions that may undermine compliance to dietary protocol, routine ingestion of more than 2 sugar-sweetened beverages or 2 alcoholic beverage/day. Unwillingness to consume artificial or noncaloric sweeteners. Habitual consumption (\>10 gram/day) of beverage or foods that contain erythritol. Recent or current weight loss diet.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Platelet aggregation in response to physiologic agonist, assessed as percent of maximum aggregation6 weeksThe change in % maximum aggregation induced by physiologic agonists will be measured by light transmission aggregometry in whole blood collected from subjects before and after consuming erythritol-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks and compared with change in whole blood collected before and after consuming aspartame-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks
Platelet aggregation in response to physiologic agonist, assessed as aggregation/min6 weeksThe change in aggregation/min induced by physiologic agonists will be measured by light transmission aggregometry in whole blood collected from subjects before and after consuming erythritol-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks and compared with change in whole blood collected before and after consuming aspartame-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks
Platelet reactivity to physiologic agonist, assessed as change in median fluorescence intensity6 weeksThe change in median fluorescence intensity induced by physiologic agonists, an index of platelet reactivity, will be measured by flow cytometry in whole blood collected from subjects before and after consuming erythritol-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks and compared with change in whole blood collected before and after consuming aspartame-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks
P-selectin, a platelet surface marker, assessed as median fluorescence intensity6 weeksChange in median fluorescence intensity of P-selectin, an index of platelet activation, will be measured by flow cytometry in whole blood collected from subjects before and after consuming erythritol-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks and compared with change in whole blood collected before and after consuming aspartame-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks
P-selectin, a platelet surface marker, assessed as percentage of P-selectin positive cells6 weeksChange in percentage of P-selectin positive cells, an index of platelet activation, will be measured by flow cytometry in whole blood collected from subjects before and after consuming erythritol-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks and compared with change in whole blood collected before and after consuming aspartame-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks
PAC-1 (GPIIb/IIIa complex), a platelet surface marker, assessed as median fluorescence intensity6 weeksChange in median fluorescence intensity of PAC-1, an index of platelet activation, will be measured by flow cytometry in whole blood collected from subjects before and after consuming erythritol-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks and compared with change in whole blood collected before and after consuming aspartame-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks
PAC-1 (GPIIb/IIIa complex), a platelet surface marker, assessed as percentage of PAC-1 positive cells6 weeksChange in percentage of PAC-1 positive cells, an index of platelet activation, will be measured by flow cytometry in whole blood collected from subjects before and after consuming erythritol-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks and compared with change in whole blood collected before and after consuming aspartame-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks
Annexin V, a platelet surface marker, assessed as median fluorescence intensity6 weeksChange in median fluorescence intensity of annexin V, an index of platelet activation, will be measured by flow cytometry in whole blood collected from subjects before and after consuming erythritol-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks and compared with change in whole blood collected before and after consuming aspartame-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks
Annexin V, a platelet surface marker, assessed as percentage of annexin V positive cells6 weeksChange in percentage of annexin V positive cells, an index of platelet activation, will be measured by flow cytometry in whole blood collected from subjects before and after consuming erythritol-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks and compared with change in whole blood collected before and after consuming aspartame-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks
Platelet-leukocyte interaction, assessed as platelet/leukocyte aggregate size by fluorescence mean intensity6 weeksChange in platelet/leukocyte aggregate size, an index of platelet-leukocyte interaction, will be measured by flow cytometry in whole blood collected from subjects before and after consuming erythritol-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks and compared with change in whole blood collected before and after consuming aspartame-sweetened beverage for 2 weeks

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Plasma concentration of E-Selectin6 weeksChange in plasma E-Selectin in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of sVCAM16 weeksChange in plasma sVCAM1 in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of sICAM16 weeksChange in plasma sICAM1 in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of D-dimer6 weeksChange in plasma D-dimer in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of Platelet factor 46 weeksChange in plasma platelet factor 4 in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of Fibrinogen6 weeksChange in plasma fibrinogen in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of Prothrombin fragment 1+26 weeksChange in plasma prothrombin fragment 1+2 in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of Plasmin-antiplasmin complex6 weeksChange in plasma plasmin-antiplasmin complex in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of Lp(a)6 weeksChange in plasma Lp(a) in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Plasma concentration of uric acid6 weeksChange in plasma fasting uric acid in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of apolipoprotein CIII6 weeksChange in plasma fasting apolipoprotein CIII in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of apolipoprotein B6 weeksChange in plasma fasting apolipoprotein B in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of high density lipoprotein cholesterol6 weeksChange in plasma fasting high density lipoprotein cholesterol in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of glucose6 weeksChange in plasma fasting glucose in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of triglyceride6 weeksChange in plasma fasting triglyceride in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of cholesterol6 weeksChange in plasma fasting cholesterol in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage
Plasma concentration of low density lipoprotein cholesterol6 weeksChange in plasma fasting low density lipoprotein cholesterol in subjects before and after sustained consumption of erythritol-sweetened beverage compared with change before and after sustained consumption of aspartame-sweetened beverage

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactKimber L. Stanhope, Ph.D.
klstanhope@ucdavis.edu5302190914
Backup ContactMarinelle Nunez, B.S.
mvnunez@ucdavis.edu530-752-2146

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026