Recruiting

Peanut Consumption

Sponsor:

USDA, Western Human Nutrition Research Center

Code:

NCT07735221

Conditions

Immune System

Stress

Chronic Stress

Cardiovascular Health

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 65

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Peanuts, roasted, salted with skins

Isocaloric food

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this research is to determine whether peanut consumption improves indicators of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in human subjects following the consumption of study foods.

Conditions

Immune System

Stress

Chronic Stress

Cardiovascular Health

Study ID

NCT07735221

Start date

Sep, 2026

Status verified date

Sep, 2026

Completion date

Aug, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 65

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Males and females
  • 18-65 years old
  • BMI ≥ 18.5 kg/m2 and ≤ 39.9 kg/ m2
  • Recruitment will be based on Perceived Stress Scale - 4 (PSS-4) score

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Less than 18 and over 65 years old
  • Pregnant or lactating women
  • Adults who rely on prescription medication that may influence study variables, apart from birth control
  • BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 and > 39.9 kg/m2
  • Smokers who currently use tobacco- or marijuana-containing products including e-cigarettes, vape pens, pod mods, tanks, and electronic nicotine delivery devices (ENDS)
  • Habitual consumption of nuts, nut butters, nut powders, nut side dishes, nut bars or other nut products
  • Known food allergies (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame, corn) due to samples not prepared in a hypoallergenic environment
  • Currently living in close contact with individuals who have an allergy to peanuts, in order to avoid exposing these individuals to an allergen
  • Self-reported history of difficulties with blood drawing procedures including prior fainting or dizziness, or veins assessed as not suitable for four separate venipunctures by licensed phlebotomist
  • Diagnosed active chronic diseases for which the individual is currently taking daily medication, including but not limited to:

  • Diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, kidney disease, liver disease, bleeding disorders, asthma, autoimmune disorders, hypertension, osteoporosis
  • Recent minor surgery (within 4 weeks) or major surgery (within 16 weeks)
  • Known gallbladder disease or history of cholecystectomy
  • History of gastrointestinal surgery, including gastric bypass surgery or resection
  • Diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome
  • Recent antibiotic therapy (within 4 weeks)
  • Recent hospitalization (within 4 weeks)
  • Current participation in another research study
  • Has HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, or another disease that affects the immune system
  • Gives regular blood donations and is unwilling to stop during the study
  • Blood Pressure ≥ 140 mmHg systolic or 90 mmHg diastolic
  • Current diagnoses of an eating disorder (ex. anorexia, bulimia, etc.)
  • High - very high triglyceride levels: ≥ 300 mg/dL
  • Adults who are unable to consent, individuals who are not yet adults (infants, children and teenagers), pregnant women and prisoners will be excluded from participation in the study
  • Participants who are unwilling to collect and transport urine, stool and saliva samples
  • Abnormal hemoglobin and/or hematocrit levels
  • Abnormal liver function (defined as liver enzymes that are >200% of upper limit (ALT upper limit is 43 U/L or Aspartate transaminase (AST) upper limit is 54 U/L)
  • Unwillingness to discontinue probiotic, prebiotic, fiber, or other supplements (except RDA-level vitamin and mineral supplements) during the study
  • Unwilling to consume study foods
  • Alcohol consumption > 20 g/day

Study Design

Enrollment

70 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Peanut Intervention followed by corn chips Intervention

Participants will be asked to consume 42g of peanuts with skin daily for 4 weeks. Following a 4-week washout, the participant will then be asked to consume 45g of corn chips daily for 4 weeks.

experimental: Corn chip Intervention followed by Peanut Intervention

The participant will be asked to consume 45g of corn chips daily for 4 weeks. Following a 4-week washout, the participant will be then asked to consume 42g of peanuts with skin daily for 4 weeks.

Interventions

Peanuts, roasted, salted with skins

42g roasted salted peanuts with skins consumed daily

Isocaloric food

Corn chips (45g)

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in psychosocial stress over time [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of allostatic load following dietary interventions [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of monocyte gene expression [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of cytokine and interferon production in PBMCs [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of cytotoxicity of peripheral natural killer cells [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of interferon-gamma [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of tumor necrosis factors alpha and beta [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of interleukins [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of fibroblast growth factor [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of thymus and activation-regulated chemokine [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of macrophage inflammatory proteins-1 alpha and beta [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of macrophage-derived chemokine [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of monocyte chemoattractant proteins-1 and -4 [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of interferon gamma-induced protein-10 [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of eotaxin and eotaxin-3 [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of C-reactive protein [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of placental growth factor [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of serum amyloid A [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of angiopoietin-1 receptor [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of vascular endothelial growth factors A, C, and D [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of monocyte phenotype [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of monocyte functional profile [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of natural killer cell phenotype [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks ]
  • Change from baseline of natural killer cell functional profile [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Ellen Bonnel, PhD

530-752-4184elbonnel@ucdavis.edu

Ione Summers, BSc

530-754-8544iosummerssteffes@ucdavis.edu

Locations

Western Human Nutrition Research Center

Recruiting

Davis, California, United States, 95616

Contacts

Ellen Bonnel, PhD

530-752-4184elbonnel@ucdavis.edu

Ione Summers, B.S.

530-754-8544iosummerssteffes@ucdavis.edu

Principal Investigator:

Ryan Snodgrass, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

USDA, Western Human Nutrition Research Center

Last update posted

Sep 11, 2026

Last verified

Sep, 2026

Keywords

  • peanut
  • stress
  • immune function
  • cardiovascular health
  • chronic stress
  • pss10
  • inflammation
  • gut microbiota

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-12. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by USDA, Western Human Nutrition Research Center on 2026-09-11.