Cholesterol-lowering effects of oats induced by microbially produced phenolic metabolites in metabolic syndrome: a randomized controlled trial

Nature Communications 2026 Open access

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Authors: Linda Klümpen, Aakash Mantri, Maren Philipps, Waldemar Seel, Laura Schlautmann, Mohamed H. Yaghmour, Verena Wiemann, Birgit Stoffel‐Wagner, Martin Coenen, L. Weinhold, Jan Hasenauer, Thomas Fließwasser
+4 more Sven Burgdorf, Christoph Thiele, P. Stehle, Marie-Christine Simon
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-68303-9
Cited by: 8
References: 96

Abstract

Oats have various positive effects on human health, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. To identify oat-microbiome-host interactions contributing to metabolic improvements, we conducted two randomized controlled dietary interventions in parallel-design in individuals with metabolic syndrome, comparing a short-term, high-dose and a six-week, moderate oat intake with respective controls (DRKS00022169). Both oat diets lead to an increase in plasma ferulic acid (0.64 [0.26, 1.02], P = 0.002; 0.55 [0.21, 0.89], P = 0.003), while the high-dose oat-diet also increased dihydroferulic acid (1.23 [0.44, 2.01], P = 0.003). Here we show that microbial phenolic metabolites are driving factors for the cholesterol-lowering effect of oats, which might be of relevance since short-term, high-dose oat-diet is a suitable approach to alleviate obesity-related lipid disorders.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Food composition and properties Seed and Plant Biochemistry Nuts composition and effects

Publication details

Journal / source
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
17
Issue
1
Pages
598–598
Publication date
14 January 2026
Language
EN