The Effects of Quinoa and Buckwheat on Weight Management and Gut Microbiome

Hacettepe University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Overweight; Obesity

Treatments: Dietary Supplement: Rice; Dietary Supplement: quinoa; Dietary Supplement: Bulgur wheat; Dietary Supplement: Buckwheat

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07513610

KA-19102

20780 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aims to compare the effects of quinoa, buckwheat, rice, and bulgur consumption on dietary intake, anthropometric measurements, glycemic response, lipid profile, inflammatory markers, blood pressure, and intestinal microbiome in people with overweight and obesity. The primary hypotheses of the studies were given as follows:

Hypothesis 1:

H1: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet provides weight loss.

H0: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet does not provide body weight loss.

Hypothesis 2:

H2: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet affects glycemic response.

H0: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet does not affect glycemic response.

Hypothesis 3:

H3: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet affects the blood lipid profile.

H0: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet does not affect the blood lipid profile.

Hypothesis 4:

H4: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet changes the composition of the gut microbiome.

H0: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet does not change the composition of the gut microbiome.

Hypothesis 5:

H5: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet increases alpha diversity in the intestinal microbiome.

HO: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet does not increase alpha diversity in the intestinal microbiome.

Hypothesis 6:

H6: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet increases beta diversity in the intestinal microbiome.

HO: In people with overweight and obesity, the addition of quinoa and buckwheat to the diet does not increase beta diversity in the intestinal microbiome.

Full description

The study is designed as a randomized, controlled clinical trial in which participants will be allocated into four groups (quinoa, buckwheat, bulgur, and rice groups), each consisting of 31 or 32 pre-obese/obese adults. During the 28-day intervention period, participants' diets were supplemented with 40 g/day of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), bulgur wheat (Triticum durum), or rice (Oryza sativa).

Weekly face-to-face visits were conducted throughout the intervention to collect anthropometric measurements and dietary intake records and to assess intervention compliance and physical activity level.

At baseline and at the end of the intervention, physical examinations were performed, blood and fecal samples were collected, blood pressure was measured, and anthropometric measurements and dietary intake records were evaluated. Serum levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, glucose, insulin, fructosamine, adiponectin, C-reactive protein, malondialdehyde, uric acid, lipopolysaccharide, TNF-alpha, IL-6, zonulin, and lipopolysaccharides will be analyzed. Additionally, fecal samples will be analyzed to reveal any possible changes in gut microbiome. Given the scarcity of clinical studies in this field, this study is expected to contribute to addressing the lack of high-level clinical evidence in the literature.

Enrollment: 148 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 25 to 45 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Aged between 25 and 45
• Healthy People
• Having a body mass index between 25 and 35 kg/m²

Exclusion criteria

• To have a diagnosis of chronic and/or psychiatric illness
• To have diagnosis of celiac disease
• To be using antibiotics
• To be using medication and/or nutritional supplements that can affect body weight
• To be using medication and/or nutritional supplements that can affect glycemic response
• To be using medication and/or nutritional supplements that can affect lipid profile
• To use medication and/or nutritional supplements that can affect intestinal microbiota composition (such as antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics) in the last three months
• To have food allergies and/or food intolerances
• To be a professional athlete
• To be pregnant or breastfeeding
• To be in postmenopausal period
• To have followed a specific diet aimed at reducing body weight in the last 6 months
• To regularly consume quinoa or buckwheat in the diet
• To be unable to continue with weekly interviews
• To show less than 80% compliance with the diet
• To not give consent for the research

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

148 participants in 4 patient groups

Quinoa Group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants' diets were supplemented with 40 g of red quinoa per day for 4 weeks. Participants were instructed to boil red quinoa without adding any other ingredients.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: quinoa

buckwheat group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants' diets were supplemented with 40 g of buckwheat per day for 4 weeks. Participants were instructed to boil buckwheat without adding any other ingredients.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Buckwheat

Rice group

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants' diets were supplemented with 40 g of rice per day for 4 weeks. Participants were instructed to boil rice without adding any other ingredients.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Rice

Bulgur Wheat Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants' diets were supplemented with 40 g of bulgur wheat per day for 4 weeks. Participants were instructed to boil bulgur wheat without adding any other ingredients.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Bulgur wheat