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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2022 Aug;61(5):2571-2583.
doi: 10.1007/s00394-022-02827-w. Epub 2022 Feb 27.

UVB-exposed wheat germ oil increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 without improving overall vitamin D status: a randomized controlled trial

Anja C Bailer  1   2 , Sophie Philipp  1 , Shabnam Staudt  2   3 , Thomas Weidauer  2   3 , Michael Kiehntopf  4 , Stefan Lorkowski  2   3 , Gabriele I Stangl #  1   2 , Christine Dawczynski #  5   6
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

UVB-exposed wheat germ oil increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 without improving overall vitamin D status: a randomized controlled trial

Anja C Bailer et al. Eur J Nutr. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated whether UVB-exposed wheat germ oil (WGO) is capable to improving the vitamin D status in healthy volunteers.

Methods: A randomized controlled human-intervention trial in parallel design was conducted in Jena (Germany) between February and April. Ultimately, 46 healthy males and females with low mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels (34.9 ± 10.6 nmol/L) were randomized into three groups receiving either no WGO oil (control, n = 14), 10 g non-exposed WGO per day (- UVB WGO, n = 16) or 10 g WGO, which was exposed for 10 min to ultraviolet B-light (UVB, intensity 500-630 µW/cm2) and provided 23.7 µg vitamin D (22.9 µg vitamin D2 and 0.89 µg vitamin D3) (+ UVB WGO, n = 16) for 6 weeks. Blood was obtained at baseline, after 3 and 6 weeks and analyzed for serum vitamin D-metabolite concentrations via LC-MS/MS.

Results: Participants who received the UVB-exposed WGO were characterized by an increase of circulating 25(OH)D2 after 3 and 6 weeks of intervention. However, the 25(OH)D3 concentrations decreased in the + UVB WGO group, while they increased in the control groups. Finally, the total 25(OH)D concentration (25(OH)D2 + 25(OH)D3) in the + UVB WGO group was lower than that of the non-WGO receiving control group after 6 weeks of treatment. In contrast, circulating vitamin D (vitamin D2 + vitamin D3) was higher in the + UVB WGO group than in the control group receiving no WGO.

Conclusion: UVB-exposed WGO containing 23.7 µg vitamin D can increase 25(OH)D2 levels but do no improve total serum levels of 25(OH)D of vitamin D-insufficient subjects.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03499327 (registered, April 13, 2018).

Keywords: Healthy subjects; Randomized controlled trial; UVB-exposure; Vitamin D status; Vitamin D2; Wheat germ oil.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they have no relevant conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of the participants. Sixty-nine subjects were enrolled in this study. Twenty-one subjects were excluded, since they did not meet the inclusion criteria or declined to participate. Forty-eight subjects were randomized into three groups. As two subjects discontinued the intervention, 46 participants completed the 6 weeks intervention study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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