Beneo Promotes Heart Health

SAINT-GENES-CHAMPANELLE, FranceInhibition of atherosclerotic plaque formation was found to be more effective with long-chain inulin (Beneo HP, from ORAFTI Group), either alone or in combination with oligofructose (Beneo Synergy 1). Published in the British Journal of Nutrition (96, 5:840-4, 2006), the study included 32 male apo E-deficient mice randomly divided into four groups. The mice received either a semi-purified sucrose-based diet (control), or diets in which sucrose was replaced in part by one of the three inulin-type fructans (in 10 g, or 100 g)long-chain inulin (Beneo HP), oligofructose (Beneo P95), or an oligofructose-enriched inulin (Beneo Synergy)for a period of 16 weeks. The presence of atherosclerotic plaque was assessed by histomorphometry in the aortic sinus. The mice fed Beneo HP or Beneo Synergy had less (35 percent and 25 percent, respectively) atherosclerotic lesion area compared to control. Feeding longchain inulin significantly reduced plasma cholesterol concentrations (P<0.001), and the three inulin-type fructans reduced triacylglycerol (TAG) concentrations compared with control (P<0.001). Both the long-chain inulin and oligofructose-enriched inulin significantly lowered hepatic cholesterol concentrations compared with the control diet (P<0.05). Hepatic TAG concentrations were significantly lower in all three groups compared to control (P<0.0001). Researchers suggested findings are probably related to changes in lipid metabolism.