Impact of Arabinoxylan Consumption on Glycemic Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Preclinical and Clinical Studies.

Background/

Objectives

Arabinoxylan (AX) has shown potential benefits in glycemic control; however, findings remain inconclusive. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the impact of AX intake on glycemic control in preclinical and clinical studies.

Methods

A database search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL. A total of 133 studies were included for systematic review and extracted data from 46 clinical studies and 25 preclinical studies were further analyzed for meta-analysis.

Results

The AX consumption improved overall postprandial glycemic control in clinical studies, as evidenced by reductions in glucose iAUC (SMD: -0.41; 95% CI: [-0.57, -0.25]), insulin iAUC (SMD: -0.28; 95% CI: [-0.44, -0.12]), glucose iPeak (SMD: -0.52; 95% CI: [-0.80, -0.25]), and insulin iPeak (SMD: -0.24; 95% CI: [-0.41, -0.06]) compared to the control. For chronic glycemic control, fasting glucose (Hedges' g: -1.18; 95% CI: [-1.56, -0.80]), insulin (Hedges' g: -1.07; 95% CI: [-1.92, -0.23]), HbA1c (Hedges' g: -2.93; 95% CI: [-5.48, -0.38]), and HOMA-IR (Hedges' g: -2.44; 95% CI: [-3.66, -1.22]) reduced in preclinical studies, while improvements were limited to fasting glucose (MD: -0.10; 95% CI: [-0.16, -0.03]) in clinical studies. Subgroup analyses revealed that AX exerted a greater glycemic-lowering effect in metabolically impaired animals and individuals compared to healthy counterparts. Furthermore, extracted AX was found to be more effective than intrinsic AX in optimizing glycemic control.

Conclusions

The consumption of AX improves glycemic control, particularly in metabolically impaired animals and human participants. Moreover, the benefit appears more pronounced with extract AX interventions.