Conclusions : In summary , the use of ITF may have benefits for LDL-c reduction across all study population s , whereas HDL-c improvement and glucose control were demonstrated only in the T2DM subgroup .
Overall , ITF supplementation may provide a novel direction for improving the lipid profile and glucose metabolism
The effect of the daily intake of inulin on fasting lipid, insulin and glucose concentrations in middle-aged men and women.
The present study was carried out to examine the effect of the daily intake of 10 g inulin on fasting blood lipid , glucose and insulin levels in healthy middle-aged men and women with moderately raised total plasma cholesterol ( TC ) and triacylglycerol ( TAG ) levels .  This study was a double-blind r and omized placebo-controlled parallel study in which fifty-four middle-aged subjects received either inulin or placebo for a period of 8 weeks . Fasting blood sample s were collected before the supplementation period ( baseline sample s 1 and 2 , separated by 1 week ) and at weeks 4 and 8 , with a follow-up at week 12 . Compared with baseline values , insulin concentrations were significantly lower at 4 weeks ( P < 0.01 ) in the inulin group . There was a trend for TAG values , compared with baseline , to be lower in the inulin group at 8 weeks ( P < 0.08 ) returning to baseline concentrations at week 12 . On comparison of the inulin and placebo groups , the fasting TAG responses over the 8-week test period were shown to be significantly different ( P < 0.05 , repeated measures ANOVA ) , which was largely due to lower plasma TAG levels in the inulin group at week 8 . The percentage change in TAG levels in the inulin group during the 8-week study was shown to correlate with the initial TAG level of the subjects ( rs -0.499 , P = 0.004 ) . We therefore conclude that the daily addition of 10 g inulin to the diet significantly reduced fasting insulin concentrations during the 8-week test period and result ed in lower plasma TAG levels , particularly in subjects in whom fasting TAG levels were greater than 1.5 mmol/l . These data support findings from animal studies that fructans influence the formation and /or degradation of TAG-rich lipoprotein particles , and the insulin data are also consistent with recent studies showing attenuation of insulin levels in fructan-treated rats
Conclusions : In summary , the use of ITF may have benefits for LDL-c reduction across all study population s , whereas HDL-c improvement and glucose control were demonstrated only in the T2DM subgroup .
Overall , ITF supplementation may provide a novel direction for improving the lipid profile and glucose metabolism