Hunger-Reducing Food Ingredient Developed In The U.K.

British scientists have improved on a naturally-produced gut chemical to create a food ingredient that may more quickly produce satiety when eaten. Propionate is produced in the gut when fiber is fermented by microbes. It triggers release of hormones that convince the brain a person is no longer hungry. The scientists have developed an enhanced version called inulin-propionate ester (IPE) that delivers a much larger dose of propionate. A small clinical trial showed that only one out of 25 volunteers given IPE gained more than three per cent of their body weight over 24 weeks, compared to six out of 24 given inulin.