Plasma alkylresorcinols C17:0/C21:0 ratio, a biomarker of relative whole-grain rye intake, is associated to insulin sensitivity: a randomized study.

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the pageFew studies have used biomarkers of whole-grain intake to study its relation to glucose metabolism. We aimed to investigate the association between plasma alkylresorcinols (AR), a biomarker of whole-grain rye and wheat intake, and glucose metabolism in individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS).Participants were 30-65 years of age, with body mass index 27-40 kg/m(2) and had MetS without diabetes. Individuals were recruited through six centers in the Nordic countries and randomized to a healthy Nordic diet (ND, n=96), rich in whole-grain rye and wheat, or a control diet (n=70), for 18-24 weeks. In addition, associations between total plasma AR concentration and C17:0/C21:0 homolog ratio as an indication of the relative whole-grain rye intake, and glucose metabolism measures from oral glucose tolerance tests were investigated in pooled (ND+control) regression analyses at 18/24 weeks.ND did not improve glucose metabolism compared with control diet, but the AR C17:0/C21:0 ratio was inversely associated with fasting insulin concentrations (P=0.002) and positively associated with the insulin sensitivity indices Matsuda ISI (P=0.026) and disposition index (P=0.022) in pooled analyses at 18/24 weeks, even after adjustment for confounders. The AR C17:0/C21:0 ratio was not significantly associated with insulin secretion indices. Total plasma AR concentration was not related to fasting plasma glucose or fasting insulin at 18/24 weeks.The AR C17:0/C21:0 ratio, an indicator of relative whole-grain rye intake, is associated with increased insulin sensitivity in a population with MetS.NordForsk NCoE in Food Nutrition and Health 070014 Academy of Finland Finnish Diabetes Research Foundation Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research Sigrid Juselius Foundation Kuopio University Hospital (Finland) Druvan Foundation ESPEN Skane County Council Research and Development Foundation Swedish Research Council for Health EXODIAB (Excellence of Diabetes Research in Sweden) Heart-Lung Foundation Diabetesfonden Foundation Cerealia (Sweden) Danish Obesity Research Centre (DanORC) Danish Council for Strategic Research (Dairy Health, BioFunCarb) (Denmark) Agricultural Productivity Fund (Iceland) Icelandic Research Fund for graduate students/ 120688006