Melanie J. Goulson

The effects of concentrated barley β-glucan on blood lipids in a population of hypercholesterolaemic men and women

Barley, like oats, is a rich source of the soluble fibre beta-glucan, which has been shown to significantly lower LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C). However, barley foods have been less widely studied. Therefore, we evaluated the LDL-C-lowering effect of a concentrated barley beta-glucan (BBG) extract as a vehicle to deliver this potential health benefit of barley. In a 10-week blinded controlled study, subjects were randomized to one of four treatment groups or control. Treatment groups included either high molecular weight (HMW) or low molecular weight (LMW) BBG at both 3 and 5 g doses. Treatment was delivered twice per day with meals in the form of two functional food products: a ready-to-eat cereal and a reduced-calorie fruit juice beverage. Levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), and TAG were determined at baseline and after 6 weeks of treatment. The study group comprised 155 subjects. All treatments were well tolerated and after 6 weeks of treatment the mean LDL-C levels fell by 15 % in the 5 g HMW group, 13 % in the 5 g LMW group and 9 % in both the 3 g/d groups, versus baseline. Similar results were observed for total cholesterol. HDL-C levels were unchanged by treatment. Concentrated BBG significantly improves LDL-C and total cholesterol among moderately dyslipidaemic subjects. Food products containing concentrated BBG should be considered an effective option for improving blood lipids.

The Sweetness Concentration-Response of R,R-Monatin, a Naturally Occurring High-Potency Sweetener

UNLABELLED Monatin, known by the common and usual name arruva, is a zero-calorie, high-potency sweetener naturally occurring in the plant Sclerochiton ilicifolius A.Meeuse. The sweetness concentration-response (C-R) behavior of the most potent isomer (R,R-) in room-temperature (21 °C) water was determined using two-alternative forced choice discrimination tests with a minimum of 69 tasters. Results were processed by a method previously published to obtain isosweet concentrations of sucrose for 8 monatin concentrations up to 240 mg/L. These were used to construct a C-R plot. The equation for the resultant hyperbolic curve relating sucrose equivalent (SE,%) to monatin concentration ([monatin], mg/L) was SE = 26.7 ×[monatin]/(69.6 +[monatin]). R,R-monatin has a potency above 3000 at 5% sucrose equivalent, making it one of the most potently sweet naturally occurring substances known. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Monatin is a naturally occurring, zero-calorie, high-potency sweetener. We have measured the sweetness of monatin over a range of concentrations. This information will help developers of zero-, low- and reduced-calorie products formulate with monatin.