Effects of targeted delivery of propionate to the human colon on appetite regulation, body weight maintenance and adiposity in overweight adults

Gut
Q1
Dec 2014
Citations:1175
Influential Citations:37
Interventional (Human) Studies
91
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Methods
Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-design trial; 60 overweight adults (men and women) aged 40–65 years with BMI 25–40 kg/m2.
Intervention
Active: 10 g/day inulin-propionate ester for 24 weeks; taken daily by mixing into the usual diet. Control: 10 g/day inulin for 24 weeks; taken daily by mixing into the usual diet.
Results
Acute ingestion of 10 g/day inulin-propionate ester acutely increased postprandial PYY and GLP-1 and reduced energy intake. Long-term (24 weeks) supplementation reduced weight gain, decreased intra-abdominal adipose tissue distribution, reduced intrahepatic lipid content, and prevented deterioration in insulin sensitivity compared with inulin-control; fewer participants gained ≥3% or ≥5% of baseline weight. Concluded that increasing colonic propionate prevents weight gain in overweight adults and may offer a novel dietary route to improve metabolic health by optimizing colonic propionate production; short-term effects appear to involve appetite hormones, while long-term effects may involve additional mechanisms.
Limitations
Attrition (≈18%) with incomplete imaging data (MRI/MRS) in about one-third of participants; generalizability limited to overweight middle-aged adults; possible desensitization of FFAR2/3 receptors with long-term propionate exposure; inulin control may contribute to SCFA production and confound long-term effects; not all metabolic outcomes differed between groups at 24 weeks.

Abstract

Objective The colonic microbiota ferment dietary fibres, producing short chain fatty acids. Recent evidence suggests that the short chain fatty acid propionate may play an important role in appetite regulation. We hypothesised that colonic delivery o...