Progress 10/01/23 to 09/30/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience engaged during this period was potential research participants, engaged as part of the recruitment process. This includesadults, aged 18-45 years old in Prince Georges County, Maryland, and neighboring counties. These individuals were recruited to participate in the research study by a variety of means, including paper flyers on and near campus, targeted and untargeted social media campaigns, emails to departments, groups and organizations on campus,posts on research recruiting websites, and our own study website. We have also engaged with the research community on the campus of the University of Maryland, advertising the study to scientific organizations on campus, and involving graduate and undergraduate students in the research process. Changes/Problems:We had originally proposed to metabotype 300 individuals for the achievement of the first objective. Due to the timing of funding arriving in mid-fall, we missed out on some recruiting time in fall 2023.We recruited throughout spring and into early summer 2024, at which point we decided to proceed with metabotyping. Because of the design--where recruitment of individuals for the controlled diet is dependent on metabotyping results from the first phase--we decided to proceed on the basis that we risked losing interest in the group that was screened in spring 2024 if we did not proceed with the controlled diet study. Ultimately, we are aiming for 15 ODMA non-producers and 15 ODMA producers to enroll in the controlled diet study. The less common metabotype is ODMA non-producers, somewhere between 10-40% of the population according to prior research. An initial pool of 300 would have given us a comfortable margin tohave enough non-producers, but 150 may still be enough,so we are moving ahead to not lose the interest of these 150.We will re-evaluate if we are not able to recruit sufficient non-producers and producers. Our back-up plan indicated in our proposal was to consider proceeding with 10 non-producers and 20 producers. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has involved 3 graduate students and 4undergraduate students in the human subjects research process, including the recruitment, screening and consent of participants, interactions supportingdata collection, and biospecimen processing. Graduate students have also been involved in the design of the diet and protocol for the upcoming feeding study. At present, two graduate student projects are planned for this study, including one food science PhD dissertation project and one dietetics masters capstone research project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results are forthcoming. Meanwhile, adescription of the project was published in newsletters for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the MarylandToday newsletter produced by the University's Office of Marketing and Communications in February 2024. Links are provided below: https://agnr.umd.edu/news/who-benefits-flavonoids/ https://today.umd.edu/a-plant-chemical-may-have-big-health-benefits-but-for-who What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to finish HPLC-MS analysis of urine samples already collected in order to complete metabotyping and identify eligible individuals for the dietary intervention study, in support of Objective 1. We will then proceed with delivering the crossover dietary intervention study to 30 individuals, stratified by ODMA producer status,as planned to address Objectives 2 and 3. Alow-catechin control armand an apple-juice containing arm will be used to deliver a controlled dose of catechins.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In this first period, we have achieved progress toward Objective 1 and 2/3. For Objective 1, we have recruited and conducted a soy eating intervention in 150 individuals. This included completion of electronic screening questionnaires, phone screen interviews, provision of consent, completion of health history questionnaires, background diet data collection, anthropometric measurements, and consumption of a soy snack for 3 consecutive days, followed by provision of a urine sample. Urine samples are currently under analysis to determine metabotype of O-desmethylangolensin (ODMA) producers and non-producers, after which point individuals will be recruited back to participate in the controlled diet study. Objectives 2 and 3 will be completed via a controlled diet study with participants identified in Objective 1. While metabotyping is proceeding, our team has made progress in designing and receiving IRB approval forthe diet study protocol, designing the controlled diet that is low in catechins, securing the apple juice for the catechin intervention, and designing the placebo beverage to match apple juice flavor, color and sugar content.
Publications
|