Prowashonupana barley (PWB) is high in -glucan with moderate content of resistant starch. PWB reduced intestinal fat deposition (IFD) in wild type Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans, N2), and in
sir-2.1 or
daf-16 null mutants, and sustained a surrogate marker of lifespan, pharyngeal pumping rate (PPR), in N2,
sir-2.1,
daf-16, or
daf-16/daf-2 mutants. Hyperglycaemia (2% glucose) reversed or reduced the PWB effect on IFD in N2 or
daf-16/daf-2 mutants with a sustained PPR. mRNA expression of
cpt-1,
cpt-2,
ckr-1, and
gcy-8 were dose-dependently reduced in N2 or
daf-16 mutants, elevated in
daf-16/daf-2 mutants with reduction in
cpt-1, and unchanged in
sir-2.1 mutants. mRNA expressions were increased by hyperglycaemia in N2 or
daf-16/daf-2 mutants, while reduced in
sir-2.1 or
daf-16 mutants. The effects of PWB in the C. elegans model appeared to be primarily mediated via
sir-2.1,
daf-16, and
daf-16/daf-2. These data suggest that PWB and -glucans may benefit hyperglycaemia-impaired lipid metabolism.