Effect of Oat Flour Supplementation on Lipid Profile of Coronary Heart Disease Patients

Sixty at risk of coronary heart disease subjects in the age group of 40–50 yrs were selected. The subjects were equally divided into three groups i.e. E1, E2 and C group. Subjects of the E1 and E2 groups were provided oat flour to supplement the wheat flour in the ratio of1:4 and 1:3, respectively, for a period of two months, while C group was not given any form of supplementation. A significant (p?0.05) decrease in energy intake was observed while total fat intake decreased significantly in E1 (p?0.05) and E2 (p?0.01) groups. Blood pressure and blood lipid profile of all the subjects were recorded before and after the supplementation period. A significant (p?0.01) reduction in systolic and diastolic BP, TC and TG was reported in the E1 and E2 groups and a significant (p?0.01) increase in HDL-C was reported in E2 group. Further, a significant decrease in LDL-C and VLDL-C levels was reported in E1 (p?0.05) and E2 groups. It is concluded that better results in blood pressure and blood lipid profile were obtained in E2 group, followed by E1 group. It could be due to the presence of soluble fibre i.e. ?-glucan, gamma linolenic acid and antioxidants present in oats, which is responsible for reduction in LDL-C and lowering of total cholesterol, thus, exhibiting a cardio-protective mechanism. It is thus suggested that oat flour supplementation in the ratio of 1:3 can be a panacea in counteracting the problems of heart patients.