Mixed Green Banana Pulp and Peel Flour Supplementation Improves Anthropometric and Metabolic Parameters in Adults with Excess Body Weight: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Excess body weight is associated with increased adiposity and metabolic disturbances, highlighting the need for dietary strategies that can simultaneously target body composition and metabolic health. Mixed green banana pulp and peel flour (MF) is a sustainable functional ingredient rich in resistant starch (RS), dietary fiber, and phenolic compounds, but evidence of its effects in humans remains limited. This study investigated the effects of daily supplementation with an MF-based beverage providing 10 g/day of RS on anthropometric, metabolic and inflammatory parameters in adults with excess body weight undergoing moderate energy restriction (−250 kcal/day). In this 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, participants were assigned to a control group (CG; n = 24), receiving a placebo beverage, or a mixed flour group (MFG; n = 24), receiving the MF beverage. Anthropometric measurements and blood samples were collected at baseline and after the intervention, plasma cytokines were quantified by flow cytometry. The MFG showed greater reductions in several markers of adiposity and body fat distribution compared with the CG, including body weight (−1.34 vs. −0.18 kg; Δp = 0.020), BMI (−0.54 vs. +0.33 kg/m²; Δp = 0.015), waist circumference (−3.58 vs. −2.23 cm; Δp = 0.019), and waist-to-height ratio (−0.023 vs. −0.013; Δp = 0.016). These effects were also observed for the abdominal volume index (AVI) and body roundness index (BRI), which showed greater reductions in the MFG than in the CG (−1.16 vs. −0.39; Δp = 0.042 and −0.26 vs. −0.15; Δp = 0.014, respectively). Metabolic and hepatic-related markers showed a similar pattern, with greater reductions in VLDL-C (−6.95 vs. −3.24 mg/dL; Δp = 0.024), serum uric acid (−0.68 vs. −0.40 mg/dL; Δp = 0.044), GGT (−0.50 vs. +1.00 U/L; Δp = 0.049), and fatty liver index (−5.87 vs. −5.53; Δp = 0.030). Although no between-group differences were detected for inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 decreased significantly within the MFG. Overall, daily supplementation with MF providing 10 g/day of RS was associated with improvements in central adiposity-related indices and selected metabolic biomarkers in adults with excess body weight undergoing moderate energy restriction.

Funding Agencies: CNPq; FAPEMIG; CAPES