Satiety enhancers in food

The latest fad in persuading consumers to buy food products is offering satiety, a new concept for dieters and healthy eaters. It could replace the passion for GI, glycaemic index, foods, which seem to have slipped from the headlines.

It offers the advantage of simplicity, which the low-carb trend never had. But scientists have yet to agree on a definition of satiety, partly because it is a subjective feeling that is triggered by the psychological feeling of satisfaction rather than the physical feeling of being full. One definition is: “Satiety results from eating food that makes people stop eating.”

The yardstick is satisfaction. When food fully satisfies the eater, that is satiety. This was achieved through the Atkins diet because the high protein foods sat in the stomach for longer, making the eater feel full and sated. This is due to the presence of fibre, protein and fat which slows the rate at which the carbohydrates in a food are broken down and absorbed into the blood stream, averting those sudden drops in blood sugar levels which make people feel hungry.

Technically, hunger is a feeling experienced when the glycogen level of the liver falls below a threshold, usually followed by a desire to eat. The feeling originates in the hypothalamus and is released through receptors in the liver. Although an average nourished human can survive about 50days without food intake, the sensation of hunger typically begins after several hours without eating.

Satiety, or the feeling of fullness and disappearance of appetite after a meal, is a process mediated by the ventromedial nucleus in the hypothalamus. Several hormones help convey the feeling of satiety to the brain: Leptin increases on achieving satiety, for example, while ghrelin increases when the stomach is empty.

Fibre also increases satiety because it expands in the stomach, slowing down digestion. Oatmeal is a good example as it contains soluble fibre in the form of beta-glucans which gel in the stomach, and oats which also contain a certain level of protein. Quaker, for example, labels its instant oatmeal as Weight Control.

The emerging satiety trend provides a licence for makers of low-GI products to re-market their offerings. It also throws a lifeline to low-carb packaged foods makers whose sales are waning. Low-carb products are generally high in protein, at the expense of quickly digested, high glycaemic, carbohydrates and are thereby more satiating than high-sugar snacks.

This trend could have the advantage of making it easier to introduce new foods.

Ever-tightening regulations have added considerable costs to the licensing of novel foods, which do not apply to natural ingredients. But marketing any food ingredient as a medical appetite suppressant may lead to difficulties with regulatory bodies. Using a word that promotes a food as satisfying may prove the safest route.

Around the manufacturers

Fabuless is a new natural ingredient developed for use in dairy products. It is produced exclusively for Dutch ingredients group DSM by Swedish-based Lipid Technologies Provider and used in dairy applications.

It is an oil-in-water emulsion that consists of a minimal amount of palm and oat oil. The specific oat fraction digests very slowly, allowing the ingredient to penetrate deeply into the intestinal system. The body will identify a relatively high level of undigested fat at a relatively late stage of the digestive process. In this way the hunger signals it would normally start sending are suppressed.

DSM says that independent clinical studies show that respondents using Fabuless not only eat less, but still feel pleasantly satisfied. The company can help food producers to develop products that fit their brand and will provide hands-on experience in all processing and technical aspects. Recently, Portuguese manufacturer Adagio introduced an appetite-reducing fermented milk drink, Adagio Versus, based on Fabuless.

It adds that the well-established safety of the main raw materials makes it easier to introduce into the food category than many other nutraceuticals designed to help control weight, such as botanicals or new ingredients not traditionally used in foods. These must be submitted to European authorities with a safety dossier before being permitted on the market.

Cargill offers Xtend Sucromalt from its sweetener portfolio, a slow-release carbohydrate that promises a sustained energy release and a lower glycaemic response, meaning longer-lasting satiety. The company also offers Xtend Isomaltulose, a slowly digestible sweetener.

Xtend Sucromalt is derived from sucrose and maltose, provides the full energy of sucrose, and has a clean, sweet taste. Because it is a syrup, it allows food and beverage manufacturers to apply the benefits of a sugar alternative with slow energy release and low glycaemic response to an even wider range of applications. It can also replace multiple sweeteners and bulking agents in many formulations. This allows food manufacturers to simplify ingredient labels and potentially reduce the amount of simple sugars in the formulation.

While not yet included in the US Code of Federal Regulations to allow a dental health claim, Xtend Isomaltulose is tooth friendly, which means it cannot be fermented by bacteria in the mouth and therefore supports oral health.

Anne Mollerus, global product line manager, says the company is seeking EU approval for Xtend Sucromalt while Xtend Isomaltulose already has novel foods approval in Europe. Both sweeteners have GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) status in the United States and together they offer the benefits of slow energy release, a blunted glycaemic response and a sweet taste for a very wide range of applications.

Xtend Isomaltulose is obtained from sucrose by enzymatic conversion. It provides the full energy of both glucose and fructose, but is released over a longer period of time. It has a clean, sweet taste and, because it is a syrup, it enables food and beverage manufacturers to apply the benefits of a sugar alternative with slow energy release and low glycaemic response to an even wider range of applications. The slow energy release supports a balanced energy supply to muscle and brain, making the product perfect for the formulation of sports drinks, energy drinks and tablets, cereal bars and meal replacements.

Dr Fred Brouns, Cargill’s manager of Nutritional Sciences Europe, says: “Our research gives a good initial indication that Xtend Isomaltulose triggers the body’s satiety regulating mechanisms – which potentially helps make a person feel more full and reduces hunger pangs. In addition, Isomaltulose, through its low blood glucose and insulin response helps the body to burn more fat as a source of energy, compared to when consuming normal sugar. Both of these are promising for developing new products in the context of increased prevalence of obesity, especially in children.”

Partners sought

PacificHealth Laboratories, a nutrition technology company, is looking for partners to help speed take up of its Satiatrim satiety ingredient. This is a new type of weight loss product that has been shown in multiple clinical trials to reduce caloric intake up to 20percent and extend satiety for up to four hours following a meal.

Dr Robert Portman, CEO of PacificHealth, says it is based on a peptide called cholecystokinin (CCK). This creates the feeling of fullness and, in an open trial, consumers lost, on average, 2.5pounds per week, which most obesity experts feel is the ideal rate of weight loss. The proprietary formula can also be incorporated into various types of foods and beverages to provide extended satiety.

Portman says: “Humans tend to feel more full after eating a meal rich in protein and fat but such meals also tend to have a high calorific content and would therefore typically be avoided by dieters. But our researchers have identified the proteins and fat that have the best ability to stimulate peptides.”

The company offers ready-to-drink fruit beverages in 8oz cans in chocolate, vanilla and mixed berry flavours. Cans contain under 50calories and are intended for consumption before meals. The company is looking for a partner to help it take Satiatrim into retail outlets. It would also consider licensing it as an ingredient and potential areas for investigation could be its addition to yoghurt or diet drinks.

Dr Portman says the technology is revolutionary because it is not a stimulant but works on a novel mechanism, based on how the body naturally controls appetite. It is not meant as a cure as the only way to reduce obesity is a change in lifestyle, and no product can achieve that, but satiety products can help people to stay on a diet once they have already decided to embark on a healthy eating programme.

The company is also engaged in ongoing research, and recently announced that it is funding work by Professor David Thompson at the University of Manchester’s Hope Hospital, who has developed a sophisticated assay to test the impact of the product on CCK and other satiety peptides. Preliminary data shows that Satiatrim reduces the movement of food through the stomach by up to 60percent compared with a placebo and subjects exhibited a significant drop in the volume of food they were able to consume. These results strongly suggest that, in addition to its value as a weight loss product, the ingredient may offer considerable benefits in treating Type2diabetes, a fast growing chronic condition.

If the satiety trend takes off, it will give ingredients manufacturers a chance to relabel low GI products, providing a new lease of life for tired lines. And while the general public may not easily define satiety, it should lead to some interesting paths of product development.

Recent Issues