Just One Molecule Can Curb Appetite

The effects of the fiber inulin, which is taken up by eating chicory, cereal bars and sugar beets, was examined in mouse models. It showed that mice that were fed a high-fat diet with added inulin ate less and gained less weight than mice that were exclusively fed a high-fat diet. In a more detailed analysis, the researchers found higher acetate concentrations in the guts of inulin animals than among mice in the control group.

Using a PET scan, the path of the molecule was tracked from the colon, the liver, the heart and finally to the hypothalamus, which controls hunger. Acetate triggers chemical reactions leading to the firing of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons, which are known to suppress appetite. A hunger-dampening effect was also reached by injecting acetate in mice, the study authors report.

Study leader Gary Frost explained, "The major challenge is to develop an approach that will deliver the amount of acetate needed to suppress appetite but in a form that is acceptable and safe for humans. Acetate is only active for a short amount of time in the body, so if we focused on a purely acetate-based product we would need to find a way to drip-feed it and mimic its slow release in the gut."

Medical Research Council Cambridge,UK May 2014