A Randomized Crossover Trial on the Effects of Whole Apple Consumption on Postprandial Response to an Oral Fat Tolerance Test in Overweight and Obese Individuals (P08-109-19)

Abstract Objectives Postprandial lipemia (PPL) is a possible target for dietary strategies seeking to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, including in overweight and obese individuals. Apples contain pectin and polyphenols that have shown potential to modulate PPL in in vitro and animal studies. However, whole apples, as a complex food matrix, have not been investigated in terms of their impact on PPL in humans. Therefore, this study used an oral fat tolerance test (OFTT) with the aim of exploring the influence of co-ingesting whole apples with a high fat dairy beverage on PPL and possible mediators, including chylomicron metabolism, glycemia, insulinemia and gastric emptying in generally healthy, but overweight and obese adults. Methods Six overweight and 20 obese participants (17 women and 9 men, mean ± SEM age of 45.5 ± 3.1 years, BMI of 34.1 ± 0.2 kg/m2, and fasting triacylglycerol (TAG) of 1.38 ± 0.08 mmol/L) completed this randomized, crossover acute meal study. After fasted participants consumed the OFTT (1 g fat/kg body weight, containing 1500 mg acetaminophen per meal for estimating gastric emptying rate) with and without 3 apples (∼200 g), plasma TAG, ApoB48, glucose, insulin, acetaminophen, and chylomicron-rich fraction (CMRF) particle size and fatty acid composition were analyzed over 6 hours. Differences in postprandial response (i.e., mean concentration, peak concentration (Cmax), time to peak (Tmax) and incremental area under the curve) between treatments were assessed by analysis of covariance. Results Consuming whole apples with the OFTT did not modify postprandial TAG, CMRF properties, glucose or gastric emptying rate (P > 0.05), but led to a higher Apo48 peak concentration (P < 0.01) and higher insulin concentrations between 20–180 min (P < 0.05). Conclusions Consumption of apples, as a complex food matrix containing pectin and polyphenols, did not alter overall PPL following a high fat meal, but did lead to initially higher postprandial insulin. These results have relevance for using apples as a dietary strategy to manage CVD risk associated with high fat consumption in overweight and obese individuals. Funding Sources Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Ontario Apple Growers, Canada.