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Edible Insects: Good for the Gut and the Globe

NCT06397924 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 18

Last updated 2025-07-24

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Edible insects have been eaten by people throughout human history and are consumed today across the globe. Insects are also currently being incorporated into a number of food products in the United States, Canada, and Europe due to their unique nutritional and sustainability attributes. Insects have been touted as an environmental alternative to conventional meat products, but they are unique in containing dietary fiber. The investigators have recently demonstrated in a population of healthy individuals that two weeks of consuming 25 g/day cricket powder may be associated with prebiotic effects by stimulating the growth of Bifidobacterium in the gut. In addition, participants had reduced inflammatory markers in the blood after the cricket intervention. Crickets and other edible insects contain a unique form of fiber called chitin. They would like to explore whether chitin may be responsible for these previously observed effects and particularly if chitin consumption can mitigate symptoms and inflammation associated with the gastrointestinal disorder Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). This project aims to examine the impact of consuming 4 grams of cricket-derived chitin daily for 30 days on the gut microbiota, intestinal and systemic markers of inflammation, and symptom severity and quality of life in individuals with IBS.

Conditions

  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Chitin Fiber

Dietary fiber isolated from an edible insect (chitin)

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo

Maltodextrin

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Wisconsin, Madison

    collaborator OTHER

  • Colorado State University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Tiffany Weir, MSc,PhD · Colorado State University

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-07-06
Primary Completion
2024-05-31
Completion
2024-08-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06397924 on ClinicalTrials.gov