• Paola Vitaglione, Ilario Mennella, Rosalia Ferracane, Angela A Rivellese, Rosalba Giacco, Danilo Ercolini, Sean M Gibbons, Antonietta La Storia, Jack A Gilbert, Satya Jonnalagadda, Frank Thielecke, Maria A Gallo, Luca Scalfi, and Vincenzo Fogliano.
• From the Department of Agricultural and Food Science, University of Naples "Federico II," Portici (NA), Italy (PV, IM, RF, DE, ALS, and VF); the Departments of Clinical Medicine and Surgery (AAR) and Public Health (LS), University of Naples "Federico II," Napoli, Italy; Institute of Food Science, National Research Council, Avellino, Italy (RG); Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences (SMG) and Department of Ecology and Evolution (JAG), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL (SMG and JAG); General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition, Minneapolis, MN (SJ); Cereal Partners Worldwide S.A., Lausanne, Switzerland (FT); and Centro Diagnostico San Ciro, Portici, Italy (MAG).
• Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2015 Feb 1; 101 (2): 251-61.

BackgroundEpidemiology associates whole-grain (WG) consumption with several health benefits. Mounting evidence suggests that WG wheat polyphenols play a role in mechanisms underlying health benefits.ObjectiveThe objective was to assess circulating concentration, excretion, and the physiologic role of WG wheat polyphenols in subjects with suboptimal dietary and lifestyle behaviors.DesignA placebo-controlled, parallel-group randomized trial with 80 healthy overweight/obese subjects with low intake of fruit and vegetables and sedentary lifestyle was performed. Participants replaced precise portions of refined wheat (RW) with a fixed amount of selected WG wheat or RW products for 8 wk. At baseline and every 4 wk, blood, urine, feces, and anthropometric and body composition measures were collected. Profiles of phenolic acids in biological samples, plasma markers of metabolic disease and inflammation, and fecal microbiota composition were assessed.ResultsWG consumption for 4-8 wk determined a 4-fold increase in serum dihydroferulic acid (DHFA) and a 2-fold increase in fecal ferulic acid (FA) compared with RW consumption (no changes). Similarly, urinary FA at 8 wk doubled the baseline concentration only in WG subjects. Concomitant reduction in plasma tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) after 8 wk and increased interleukin (IL)-10 only after 4 wk with WG compared with RW (P = 0.04) were observed. No significant change in plasma metabolic disease markers over the study period was observed, but a trend toward lower plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 with higher excretion of FA and DHFA in the WG group was found. Fecal FA was associated with baseline low Bifidobacteriales and Bacteroidetes abundances, whereas after WG consumption, it correlated with increased Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes but reduced Clostridium. TNF-α reduction correlated with increased Bacteroides and Lactobacillus. No effect of dietary interventions on anthropometric measurements and body composition was found.ConclusionsWG wheat consumption significantly increased excreted FA and circulating DHFA. Bacterial communities influenced fecal FA and were modified by WG wheat consumption. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01293175.© 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

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