Will we shortly be able to pluck an oat juice from the supermarket shelf or grab an oat ice cream from the freezer cabinet? European scientists currently investigating how a soluble dietary fibre from oat or barley could help consumers reduce high blood cholesterol levels and balance blood glucose peaks seem to think so.

Called beta-glucan, researchers suggest that this soluble dietary fibre could, in turn, help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

On the agenda for the three-year project, launched in 2001, are methods to isolate beta-glucan from cereals, designing new food products enriched in beta-glucan, evaluating consumer acceptance of the new foods and finally, evaluating the physiological effects of the food prototypes in people.

During the first year of the project , scientists succeeded in manufacturing beta-glucan preparations. Some of these preparations were then tested in mice trials, where results revealed they were effective in lowering blood lipid levels. The beta-glucan fractions were also included in a beverage prototype and tested by sensory assessors.

An ongoing human clinical trial is currently assessing the food products containing beta-glucan, and tracking the influence these foods could have on cholesterol levels and glucose metabolism.

As type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol levels continue to increase in Europe the researchers, co-ordinated by Dr Gunilla önning at Lund university in Sweden, are hoping that their studies will lead to new beta-glucan enriched functional foods which, not only appeal to consumers, but also help in the control of blood cholesterol and in the balance of blood glucose levels.