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Pulse Revolution: Enhancing Metabolic Health Through the Power of Processed Chickpeas

Effects of Daily Consumption of Processed Pulse-based Food Products on Physiological Responses Related to Energy Metabolism and Metabolic Health

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06758869
Enrollment
204
Registered
2025-01-06
Start date
2027-01-01
Completion date
2029-12-01
Last updated
2026-04-24

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

Conditions

Healthy

Brief summary

The purpose of this research is to test how processing can affect how one's body uses the nutrients in that food. For this study the researchers are examining how making different food products out of chickpeas, such as hummus or pasta, changes how one's body uses those foods for energy.

Detailed description

The overall objective is to determine the impact of daily consumption of processed pulse-based food products on metabolic health, specifically the physiological responses related to energy metabolism. The primary hypothesis is that consuming a serving of pulses daily for 12 weeks will improve metabolic responses related to energy metabolism, particularly fat oxidation and molecular adaptations related to fat and glucose metabolism, compared to current Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendations. Furthermore, we hypothesize that the degree of processing will influence these metabolic adaptations such that the daily consumption of 100% pulse flour food products will result in the greatest effect on fat oxidation and molecular adaptations related to fat and glucose metabolism followed by the pulse purée which will have a greater effect than the whole cooked pulse (100% pulse flour \> purée \> whole).

Interventions

OTHERControl

Participants will consume the Base DGA diet with a standardized non-pulse product snack.

OTHERWhole Chickpeas

Participants will consume an adjusted DGA diet with a standardized whole chickpea snack.

OTHERPuréed Chickpeas

Participants will consume an adjusted DGA diet with a standardized puréed chickpea snack.

OTHER100% Chickpea Flour Product

Participants will consume an adjusted DGA diet with a standardized 100% chickpea flour product snack.

Sponsors

USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center
Lead SponsorFED

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
19 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* apparently healthy adults * BMI \>18.5 or \<35 kg/m2 (healthy body weight - class I obesity) * ability to understand and sign the consent form * availability of transportation (i.e., participants must provide their own transportation to the Center) * non-smoking or do not use other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes * not taking steroid-based medications * not planning to or currently attempting to gain or lose weight * not allergic to study foods * willing to comply with study demands

Exclusion criteria

* usual pulse consumption greater than DGA recommendation * inability or unwillingness to consume any of the provided foods * more than a 10% change in body weight within the past 2 months * actively trying to lose weight * pregnancy or actively trying to get pregnant * lactation * uncontrolled hypertension (systolic \>160 mmHg or diastolic \>100 mmHg) * diagnosed cardiovascular, pulmonary, skeletal and metabolic diseases * HbA1c ≥ 5.7% * complete blood count (CBC) outside of the normal range for a healthy adult * history of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders (including Celiac's or Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, ulcerative colitis, chronic constipation or diarrhea, and lactose intolerance) * using medications known to affect appetite, blood lipids, body composition, body weight, or food intake (appetite control drugs, steroids) * cannot read or understand English

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Differences in substrate oxidation in response to eating differentially processed pulse-based food products12 weelsUsing whole-room calorimetry, measure differences in fat, carbohydrate, and protein oxidation in response to daily consumption of whole chickpeas, pureed chickpeas, or chickpea-flour pasta compared to a control diet.
Change from Baseline in substrate oxidation after consuming differentially processed pulse-based food products for 12 weeks12 weeksMeasure changes in fat, carbohydrate, and protein oxidation in response to consuming whole chickpeas, pureed chickpeas, or chickpea-flour pasta using whole room calorimetry
Determine participant consumption practices and attitudes towards pulse consumption using a validated questionnaireBaselineThe questionnaire is designed to assess enjoyment (two items), sensory properties (eight items), perceived cooking abilities (ten items), perceived practical aspects (six items), perceived healthiness (two items), upbringing (two items), social influences (four items), and quality issues (six items) of pulse consumption.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Changes in the colonic microbiota in response to consuming differentially processed pulse-based food products12 weeksFecal samples will be collected at Baseline and then again at weeks 4, 8, and 12 to identify how the predominant colon bacteria phyla are effected by consuming whole chickpeas, pureed chickpeas, or chickpea-flour pasta for 12 weeks.
Changes in me metabolic gene expression and metabolites in response to consuming differentially processed pulse-based food products.12 weeksBlood samples will be collected before and after consuming whole chickpeas, pureed chickpeas, or chickpeas-flour pasta for 12 weeks to identify how consuming these foods effect the expression genes involved with fat metabolism. This will be accomplished by combining the different snapshots provided from pre/post intervention metabolomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analysis.

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTShanon Casperson, PhD
shanon.casperson@usda.gov701-795-8497
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORShanon Casperson

USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 25, 2026