Animal studies indicate Salacia reduces body weight, possibly due to its α-glucosidase inhibitor (α-GI) properties, but this has not been examined previously. In this study, a randomized, placebo-controlled, three-way cross-over design was used to evaluate whether Salacia Chinensis (SC) reduces appetite in healthy overweight/obese individuals (body mass index 28.8 ±3.6 kg/m2; 32 ± 12 years). Forty-eight participants were fasted overnight and consumed a dose of SC (300 or 500 mg) or placebo with a fixed breakfast meal at each visit. Appetite sensations, glycemic indices and gastrointestinal peptides were measured. Results indicated that SC had no effect on postprandial appetite. However, in women, hunger was reduced by SC compared to placebo at multiple time points (300 mg; p < 0.05), but not in men. Area under the curve (AUC) for serum glucose, insulin and amylin was attenuated with SC compared to placebo (p < 0.05). Glucagon like peptide-1 had two peaks after the meal, but the AUC did not differ between groups. The AUC of peak areas for peptide YY and ghrelin were greater for SC than placebo (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that Salacia decreases glycemic indices supporting its role as an α-GI, and affects certain gastrointestinal peptides suggesting it may be an appetite modulator.

Background/AimUrinary sucrose and fructose may serve as biomarkers of sugars intake, the latter which are thought to be underreported in dietary assessment. We examined associations of urinary sugars with reported sugars intake in adults recruited for a study on diet and chronic disease risk.MethodsHealthy, non‐smoking, weight‐stable adults (n=76) performed 3×24h urine collections (UC) and completed 3 multiple pass 24h dietary recalls over 10d. Results are shown for those (n=67; aged 18–58y, BMI 19–36kg/m2) who had ≥1 complete UC (urinary PABA recovery ≥85%). Urinary sugars were measured by an enzymatic kit (Roche) and mean daily amounts calculated. 3d mean intakes of sucrose, fructose and added sugars were computed with Nutrition Data System for Research (v.10/11). Plausible (n=52) and implausible EI reporters (n=15) were determined (Huang et al, 2005).ResultsMean(±SEM) urinary sucrose and fructose were 28±2 and 38±4 mg/d, respectively. Reported intakes were 56±5 (sucrose), 25±2 (fructose), and 84±7 (added) g/d. Urinary sucrose was significantly associated with dietary sucrose in the plausible sample (r=0.36; p=0.008) and non‐significantly in the total sample (r=0.19; p=0.12). A similar pattern was seen for urinary sucrose and added sugars intake. Urinary fructose and sugars intake were not significantly associated.ConclusionThese data provide strong evidence that foods containing sucrose and added sugars are underreported.Grant Funding Source: R01DK075862 and Purdue University

BACKGROUNDIndividuals with insulin resistance (IR) have been suggested to have more food cravings than those without IR, particularly sweet cravings. However, little research has been done in this area. We tested the hypothesis that individuals with IR would have more frequent and stronger cravings, perceive themselves as less able to ignore cravings, and ‘give in’ to cravings more often than those without IR.METHODSWe analyzed data from healthy, non‐smoking, weight stable adults (aged 18–58 y; BMI 19–35 kg/m2) who had participated in recent studies in our lab and reported energy intakes (EI) plausibly (within ±25% of energy requirement (Huang et al 2005)). Cravings were assessed by questionnaire (Hill et al 1991). IR was defined as homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) >1.775 (Esteghamati et al 2010).RESULTSIndividuals with IR (n=28) had higher BMI (p=0.014) and were slightly more active (p=0.08) and younger (p=0.11) than those without IR (n=34). After controlling for confounders, those with IR had 45% less frequent cravings than those without IR (p=0.04), but no other craving variables differed significantly by IR status.CONCLUSIONSOn average, cravings were not experienced differently in those with IR versus without IR. Nevertheless, perceived cravings may be important if they trigger intake of foods that may exacerbate IR. [Funding: DK075862]

Alpha‐glucosidase inhibitors are used as antidiabetic agents to slow carbohydrate absorption. We examined a medicinal plant, Salacia, with known α‐glucosidase inhibitor properties. In this clinical trial, we measured glycemic indices after a mixed meal tolerance test in healthy overweight/obese individuals. We randomized 51 subjects (BMI: 28.7 ± 3.5 kg/m2; 58% female) to Salacia Chinensis (SC) extract (300 mg and 500 mg dose) and placebo in random order using a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, 3‐way cross‐over design. After an overnight fast, participants consumed a dose of SC or placebo along with a fixed breakfast meal (275 kcal; 50% carbohydrate; 30% fat; 20% protein). Serum was collected, and satiety and taste perception were measured using a visual analog scale before and after the meal (0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 minutes). Forty‐eight individuals with (age 33±12 y) completed the trial. After the meal, the peak serum glucose levels were lower, at either dose, compared to placebo (p < 0.05). In addition, the positive incremental area under the curve (iAUC+) of glucose was reduced by 32% at the 300mg dose compared to placebo (p < 0.05). One hour after the meal, the concentrations of amylin were lower (p < 0.05) and glucose‐like peptide‐1 tended to be higher compared to placebo (p < 0.06). Thus far, serum insulin was measured in a subset (n=29) and treatment suppressed iAUC+ compared to placebo (p < 0.05). This study shows that SC lowers postprandial serum glycemic indices in overweight/obese participants.Support or Funding InformationOmniActive Health Technologies Ltd, Canada