ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT06025292PORKUpdated Nov 6, 2026

Effects of Lean Pork Loin Intake on Protein Homeostasis and Glucose Regulation in Prediabetic Adults

An interventional study of Lean Pork vs Plant-Based Protein in Hyperglycaemia (Non Diabetic) and Prediabetes, sponsored by University of Arkansas. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 40 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-06.

Sponsored by University of Arkansas · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Sep 2024; still recruiting 2 years 2 months later.
Updated Nov 6, 2026Primary completion movedStudy completion movedGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
20
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
40 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

We will be directly comparing a high-quality protein diet composed primarily of lean pork loin (PORK) to a lower-quality plant-based protein diet (PLANT) in individuals with prediabetes on muscle and whole-body protein turnover and glucose regulation.

02

Conditions studied

  • Hyperglycaemia (Non Diabetic)
  • Prediabetes

Keywords

  • Lean pork
  • Muscle Protein Synthesis
  • Protein
  • Plant-Based
03

In context

Hyperglycemia

800 studies on the registry are indexed under Hyperglycemia; 115 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 20 is below the median of 50 across 620 interventional studies indexed under Hyperglycemia.

Browse Hyperglycemia studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Arkansas is the lead sponsor of 399 studies on the registry; 38 are open to participants now.

Of its 37 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 34 (92%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
40 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • 1. Males and females ages 40-65 years.
  • 2. 25 to ≤40 kg/m2 (or body fat % ≥25% in males or ≥36% in females)
  • 3. Capable of providing .
  • 4. COVID-19 negative and/or asymptomatic.
  • 5. Willing to abstain from drinking alcohol or consuming marijuana and CBD products during the 4-day study meal period
  • 6. : 5.7-6.4% or fasting glucose 100-125 mg/dL

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1. Participant who does not/will not eat animal protein sources.
  • 2. Allergy to wheat, soy, or common ingredients in plant-based protein products.
  • 3. \<25 kg/m2 or >40 kg/m2.
  • 4. \<10g/dL at screening.
  • 5. \<150,000/uL at screening.
  • 6. History of chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer in the 6 months prior to enrollment.
  • 7. History of gastrointestinal bypass/reduction surgery.
  • 8. Pregnant or lactating individuals.
  • 9. History of a chronic inflammatory disease (e.g. Lupus, Crohn's disease)
  • 10. Currently receiving androgen (e.g., testosterone) or anabolic (e.g., GH, IGF-I) therapy.
  • 11. Currently using prescription blood thinning medications.
  • 12. Currently using medications (cortisone, hydrocortisone, prednisone, etc.).
  • 13. Unable or unwilling to suspend aspirin use for 7 days prior to Visit 3 and Visit 7.
  • 14. Unwilling to avoid using protein or amino-acid supplements during participation.
  • 15. Unwilling to fast overnight.
  • 16. Unwilling to avoid alcohol, marijuana and CBD products for the four study days.
  • 17. Participants on glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1-RA) medications for \<1 month or with less than one treatment dose (injection) every two weeks
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(6)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

HbA1c

A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
20 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    High Quality Protein Intake - Lean Pork

    Meal patterns will mimic a standard American diet (50% carbohydrate, 15% protein, 35% fat), providing an isonitrogenous 0.8 g/kg/d protein, and meeting individual estimated daily energy requirements. We have chosen 0.8 g/kg/d as it is the recommend dietary allowance for protein in the US. This arm's protein source will be from lean pork.

    Other: Lean Pork vs Plant-Based Protein

  • Active comparator
    Low Quality Protein Intake - Plant-Based

    Meal patterns will mimic a standard American diet (50% carbohydrate, 15% protein, 35% fat), providing an isonitrogenous 0.8 g/kg/d protein, and meeting individual estimated daily energy requirements. We have chosen 0.8 g/kg/d as it is the recommend dietary allowance for protein in the US. This arm's protein source will be from plant-based protein (ie impossible burger, black bean burger, soy, etc).

    Other: Lean Pork vs Plant-Based Protein

Interventions

  • OtherLean Pork vs Plant-Based Protein

    Participants will eat prepared study meals for three days that have either protein sourced from lean pork or plant-based sources.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Muscle Protein Synthesis

    Mixed muscle protein synthesis expressed as the fractional synthetic rate.

    Time frame: 24 hours

  2. Whole Body Protein Balance

    Amount of net protein gained per unit of time.

    Time frame: 24 hours

Secondary outcomes

  1. Whole Body Protein Synthesis

    Amount of protein produced per unit of time.

    Time frame: 24 hours

  2. 24-hour Mean Glucose

    Derived from continous glucose monitor data.

    Time frame: 24 hours

Other outcomes

  1. Whole Body Protein Breakdown

    Amount of protein broken down per unit of time.

    Time frame: 24 hours

  2. Whole Body Protein Flux

    Amount of protein turnover per unit of time.

    Time frame: 24 hours

  3. Glucose Regulation and Homeostasis

    Derived from continuous glucose monitor data.

    Time frame: 24 hours

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedDate before it movedWhere the date was before it movedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Sep 2024 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Mar 2027, 30 months after the start.

Of 208 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Hyperglycemia, half reached primary completion within 14 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 27. This study's planned 30 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 225 studies reached it within 14 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 27.

Since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026, the dates moved once, on Nov 6, 2026: primary completion Sep 2026 → Mar 2027 and completion Jan 2027 → Aug 2027.

Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Aug 29, 2023
First posted
Sep 6, 2023
StartActual
Sep 11, 2024
Primary completionEst.
Mar 30, 2027was Sep 2026
CompletionEst.
Aug 31, 2027was Jan 2027
Last update
Nov 6, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
Primary completion
Sep 30, 2026→Mar 30, 2027
Nov 6, 2026
Study completion
Jan 31, 2027→Aug 31, 2027
Nov 6, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Nov 6, 2026
    Primary completion Sep 30, 2026→Mar 30, 2027
    Study completion Jan 31, 2027→Aug 31, 2027
    + 1 other change: verification date

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06025292
Collaborators
National Pork Board
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 6, 2023
Start date
Sep 11, 2024
Primary completion
Mar 30, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 31, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 6, 2026

Study contacts

David Church, PhD
Contact
dchurch@uams.edu
501-526-5769
Amanda Gwin, PA-C
Contact
algwin@uams.edu
5018380096
David Church, PhD
principal investigator · University of Arkansas

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Interested in this study?

Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.

Contact study team

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion