Effect of Extruded Cereals Enriched With β-glucan on Postprandial Plasma Glucose and Serum Insulin Responses

β-glucan (BG) is a viscous dietary fiber present in barley and oats that, when added to carbohydrate containing foods, reduces the postprandial glycemic response (PPGR), which is considered to be beneficial to health. In 2011, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that 4g of either oat BG (OBG) or barley BG (BBG) per 30g available carbohydrate (avCHO) is required to obtain a reduction in PPGR, however this is an impractically large amount of BG to incorporate into palatable foods. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found that doses of OBG well below 4g/30g avCHO can significantly reduce PPGR. It is therefore hypothesized that 25g avCHO portions of cereal containing 1.4-1.5g of either OBG or BBG will elicit a statistically significantly lower PPGR compared to a control cereal containing no BG.