Background: Fructooligosaccharides have been claimed to lower fasting glycemia and serum total cholesterol concentrations, possibly via effects of short-chain fatty acids produced during fermentation.
Objective: We studied the effects of fructooligosaccharides on blood glucose, serum lipids, and serum acetate in 20 patients with type 2 diabetes.
Design: In a randomized, single-blind, crossover design, patients consumed either glucose as a placebo (4 g/d) or fructooligosaccharides (15 g/d) for 20 d each. Average daily intakes of energy, macronutrients, and dietary fiber were similar with both treatments.
Results: Compliance, expressed as the proportion of supplements not returned, was near 100% during both treatments. Fructooligosaccharides did not significantly affect fasting concentrations (mmol/L) of serum total cholesterol (95% CI: -0.07, 0.48), HDL cholesterol (-0.04, 0.04), LDL cholesterol (-0.06, 0.34), serum triacylglycerols (-0.21, 0.44), serum free fatty acids (-0.08, 0.04), serum acetate (-0.01, 0.01), or blood glucose (-0.37, 0.40).
Conclusions: We conclude that 20 d of dietary supplementation with fructooligosaccharides had no major effect on blood glucose, serum lipids, or serum acetate in patients with type 2 diabetes. This lack of effect was not due to changes in dietary intake, insufficient statistical power, or noncompliance of the patients.