An investigation of the acute effects of oligofructose enriched inulin on subjective wellbeing, mood and cognitive performance

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Author
Smith, A
Sutherland, D
Hewlett, Paul
Date
2015-10-28Acceptance date
2015-10-16
Type
Article
Publisher
MDPI
ISSN
2072-6643
2072-6643 (ESSN)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Abstract: Inulin is a natural food component found in many plants that are part of the human
diet (e.g., leeks, onions, wheat, garlic, chicory and artichokes). It is added to many foods and
is used to increase dietary fibre, replace fats or carbohydrates, and as a prebiotic (a stimulant of
beneficial bacteria in the colon). Oligofructose, which is also present in these foods, produces similar
effects and most research has used a combination of these products. A previous study (Smith, 2005)
investigated the effects of regular consumption of oligofructose-enriched inulin on wellbeing, mood,
and cognitive performance in humans. The results showed that oligofructose-enriched inulin had
no negative effects but that it did not improve wellbeing, mood, or performance. The aim of the
present study was to examine the acute effects of oligofructose-enriched inulin (5 g) over a 4 h period
during which the participants remained in the laboratory. A double blind placebo (maltodextrin)
controlled study (N = 47) was carried out with the order of conditions being counterbalanced and
the two sessions a week apart. On each test day mood and cognitive performance were assessed at
baseline (at 8:00) and then following inulin or placebo (at 11:00). Prior to the second test session (at
10:30) participants completed a questionnaire assessing their physical symptoms and mental health
during the test morning. The inulin and placebo were provided in powder form in 5 g sachets.
Volunteers consumed one sachet in decaffeinated tea or decaffeinated coffee with breakfast (9:00).
Questionnaire results showed that on the day that the inulin was consumed, participants felt
happier, had less indigestion and were less hungry than when they consumed the placebo. As
for performance and mood tasks, the most consistent effects were on the episodic memory tasks
where consumption of inulin was associated with greater accuracy on a recognition memory task,
and improved recall performance (immediate and delayed). Further research is required to identify
the mechanisms that underlie this effect with glucose metabolism being one candidate.
Journal/conference proceeding
Nutrients;
Citation
Smith, A.P., Sutherland, D. and Hewlett, P. (2015) 'An investigation of the acute effects of oligofructose-enriched inulin on subjective wellbeing, mood and cognitive performance', Nutrients, 7(11), pp.8887-8896.
Description
This article was published in Nutrients (online) available open access at http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu7115441
Sponsorship
Cardiff Metropolitan University (Grant ID: Cardiff Metropolian (Internal))
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