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NCT Number: NCT07227259

Health Properties of Pecan Nut Consumption

The main goal of this clinical study is to see if consuming pecan nuts will result in improvements in overall body metabolism such as in blood lipids, markers of inflammation, blood pressure, cognitive performance and changes in bacteria living in the gut in adults 45 to 75 years of age.

Participants will take part in two 3-month intervention periods, separated by 4-6 weeks, in random order ( a total of approximately 7 months). During one intervention period, they will include pecan nuts in their diet each day, while during the other intervention period they will avoid pecans in their diet. There will be an initial screening visit to evaluate eligibility and four study visits to the clinic.

Participants will be asked to complete some questionnaires about their diet, physical and cognitive health, and provide blood and stool samples, and have their blood pressure measured.

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy Adults

Age range

45 year–75 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Ragle Human Nutrition Center, UC Davis campus

Davis, California, 95616, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Francene Steinberg, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

530-752-0160

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

BMI of 20-35 kg/m2, ability to understand the intervention instructions, Willingness to follow the dietary intervention, Willingness to provide biological samples (blood and stool) -

Exclusion criteria

Allergy to pecan or other nuts, Cognitive impairment due to dementia of any type and inability to understand or comply with intervention instructions, Use of menopausal hormone replacement therapy, Use of antibiotics or probiotics in the 2 months prior to enrollment, Uncontrolled diabetes with HbA1C of >9.5, Vegetarian/vegan, Any serious medical condition (such as chronic kidney disease of stage 3 or greater, heart failure, active cancer treatment, inflammatory bowel disease, etc.), Consumption of supplements that may interfere with vascular response or gut microbiome, Use of statin drugs for cholesterol lowering.

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Treatment and study plan

pecan nut

Other

Dose - 2 ounces of pecan nuts, daily

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in vascular response at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Vascular response as measured by Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in blood lipids over 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Blood lipids as measured by clinical lipid panel, including total, LDL and HDL cholesterol, and Tiglycerides

  2. Change in markers of inflammation at 3 months

    Time frame: change from baseline at 3 months

    Markers of inflammation as measured by Luminex cytokine panel IL-17

  3. Change in gut microbiome profile at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Gut microbiome profile as measured by fecal 16S rRNA gene sequencing

  4. Change in blood markers of intestinal permeability at 3 months.

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Blood marker of intestinal permeability as measured by ELISA for LBP and LPS

  5. Change in blood markers of intestinal permeability at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Blood biomarker of intestinal permeability and immune activation as measured by ELISA of sCD14

  6. Change in cognitive function - reaction time at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Reaction time task as measured by CANTAB assessments

  7. Change in cognitive function - working memory at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Spatial working memory as assessed by CANTAB

  8. Change in cognitive function - episodic memory at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline to 3 months

    Paired associates learning as measured by CANTAB

  9. Change in cognitive function - sustained attention at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Attention measured via Rapid visual information processing using CANTAB

  10. Change in quality of life at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Self-perceived quality of life questionnaire assessed using World Health Organization Qualigy of Life Instruments (WHOQOL-BREF)

  11. Change in sleep quality at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Self-rated questionnaire of sleep quality measured by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

  12. Change in mood over 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline to 3 months

    Assessment of mood using the Affect Grid

  13. Change in perceived stress over 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Assessment of stress using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)

  14. Change in anxiety at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Anxiety measured using the Generalized Anxiety disorder Scale (GAD-7)

  15. Change in depressive symptoms at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Assessment of depressive symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)

  16. Change in blood acute phase inflammatory response maker at 3 months

    Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months

    Acute phase inflammatory response measured by hsCRP

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Francene Steinberg, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

530-752-0160

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of California, Davis

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Assessment of Systematic Health Properties of Pecan Nut Consumption: Gut, Vascular, Metabolic and Cognitive Outcomes

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Nov 12, 2025
Registry last updated
Feb 24, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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