Alternative Protein Short Chronic Study (APSC)

University of Aberdeen

Status: Completed

Conditions: Healthy

Treatments: Other: Buckwheat; Other: Fava

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06406270

University of Aberdeen

Details and patient eligibility

About

The world's population needs adequate food supply to sustain food security. The availability of sufficient dietary protein is undeniably a source of concern for human health. This study aimed to assess the satiety and potential health benefits of two types of vegetarian diets when the meat was replaced with buckwheat and respectively fava bean for one-week in the diet of healthy volunteers.

Full description

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts to prevent obesity. In Western countries, there is a greater understanding of the health benefits of pulse grains. Consumption of whole grain cereals and grain pulses has been shown to protect against a variety of inflammation-related chronic diseases. Grain cereals, pulses and pseudo cereals are also good dietary protein sources. This study aimed to assess the suitability of buckwheat and fava bean to replace meat for one week in terms of delivering adequate nutrient intake, satisfying hunger and delivering potential health benefits. The composition of human microbial metabolites and the bacterial composition after consumption of the intervention diets by healthy volunteers for one week were also assessed. This study offers data to support the potential of plants as alternative sources of dietary nutrients.

Enrollment: 20 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Healthy males and females,
• Non-vegetarian,
• non-smokers,
• age 18-65
• with BMI 18-35 kg/m.

Exclusion criteria

• vegetarian,
• smoker,
• having known allergies,
• using prescription drugs.
• diabetes,
• gastrointestinal disorders,
• kidney disease,
• hepatic disease,
• favism,
• alcohol or
• substance abuse

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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20 participants in 2 patient groups

Fava-based diet

Experimental group

Description:

At the end of the morning of each intervention visit, participants were provided with meals, which they consumed for seven consecutive days (in a 4-day rotation menu). Participants were instructed to consume only the meals that were provided to them during the study days. The breakfast, lunch and dinner meals of the diets were designed to contain 30% fat, 15% protein, 55% carbohydrate, and seven different menus (1500, 1750, 2000, 2250, 2500, 2750 and 3000 Kcal) to deliver the closest energy requirements of the volunteers. For the intervention diets, all the meat was replaced with buckwheat and fava bean food products, serving the same amount of buckwheat and fava bean food products for all the volunteers regardless of their energy requirements.

Treatment:

Other: Fava

Buckwheat-based diet

Experimental group

Description:

At the end of the morning of each intervention visit, participants were provided with meals, which they consumed for seven consecutive days (in a 4-day rotation menu). Participants were instructed to consume only the meals that were provided to them during the study days. The breakfast, lunch and dinner meals of the diets were designed to contain 30% fat, 15% protein, 55% carbohydrate, and seven different menus (1500, 1750, 2000, 2250, 2500, 2750 and 3000 Kcal) to deliver the closest energy requirements of the volunteers. For the intervention diets, all the meat was replaced with buckwheat and fava bean food products, serving the same amount of buckwheat and fava bean food products for all the volunteers regardless of their energy requirements.

Treatment:

Other: Buckwheat