The Effects of the Food Preservative Propionic Acid in Post-prandial Metabolism

Status unconfirmed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Obesity, Insulin Resistance, Diabetes

In brief

Propionic acid (PA) is used as a preservative in foods such as cheeses, baked goods, or additive for artificial fruit flavors. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers it safe and therefore, has no limitation on its use. Since PA has been shown before to serve as a substrate for glucose production in the liver, the purpose of this study is to find out if PA intake causes changes in levels of glucose, insulin and other important hormones following a meal. This research study will compare PA to placebo. The placebo looks exactly like the active substance, but it does not contain any active agent (PA). Placebos are used in research studies to see if the results are due to the study drug or to other reasons. The investigators plan to have 20 subjects take part in this study at the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH).

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01889446

Run by

Brigham and Women's Hospital

People needed

20

Starts

2013-08-01

Expected to finish

2015-06-01

Last updated by the study team

2014-09-22

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 65. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age 18-65 years
• Good health as evidenced by history and physical exam
• BMI: 20-29.9 kg/m2

You may not qualify if…

• Fasting plasma glucose >110 mg/dL
• HbA1c >6.0%
• Significant current illness other than treated hypothyroidism
• BP >135/85 or systolic BP <90 mm Hg
• Hepatic disease (transaminase > 3 times normal)
• Renal impairment (Creatinine clearance <60 ml/min)
• History of drug or alcohol abuse
• Participation in any other concurrent clinical trial
• Pregnant women
• History of food allergies.

Where it is running

• Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, Massachusetts, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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