(P11-010-25) Effects of Daily Consumption of Processed Pulse-Based Food Products on Energy Metabolism and Metabolic Health: Protocol for a Controlled Feeding Study

Objectives: The overall objective of this project is to determine the impact of daily consumption of processed pulse-based food products on metabolic health, specifically the physiological responses correlated to energy metabolism.

Methods: A randomized controlled feeding parallel design clinical trial will assess physiological outcomes before and after daily consumption of an equivalent serving of whole chickpeas, puréed chickpeas, or 100% chickpea flour food products compared to a DGA control diet for 12 weeks. The intervention diets will be matched so that the differently processed chickpeas contribute 35g of available carbohydrates daily. Study personnel will meet with participants weekly to measure weight and address any potential issues with study compliance. Participants will be assessed for 24 hours in a room calorimeter on days 0 and 84 to measure energy metabolism. Substrate oxidation will be calculated using the average oxygen consumption (V̇_O2) and carbon dioxide production (V̇_CO2) per minute and urinary nitrogen excretion while the participant is housed in the room calorimeter. Fasting blood samples will be collected on days 0 and 84 to assess the impact of the intervention diets on lipid profiles (cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and TAG) and glycemic control (glucose, insulin, HbA1c) and to identify differences in metabolic gene expression and metabolite flux attributable to the dietary interventions.

Results: A total of 136 (n=36/group) apparently healthy adults aged 19-60 years with a BMI between 18.5 and 35 kg/m² will be recruited. Data will be analyzed using mixed models with diet (control, whole chickpeas, purée chickpeas, chickpea flour food products) and week (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) and the interaction as fixed effects and the participant treated as a random effect. Age, sex, and body composition will be evaluated as covariates. Statistical significance is set at a p-value or false discovery rate of < 0.05. Dunnett’s multiple comparisons will be used to compare the intervention diets to the control diet.

Conclusions: Processed pulse-based products may provide a more acceptable and palatable way to increase pulse consumption to meet dietary recommendations. This study will provide important data on how processing of pulses into food products impacts energy metabolism and physiological health.

Funding Sources: USDA ARS #3062-10700-001-000D