No appetite efficacy of a commercial structured lipid emulsion in minimally processed drinks

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Fabuless (Olibra) is a commercially structured lipid emulsion, claimed to be a food ingredient that is effective for food intake and appetite reduction. The present study assessed its efficacy in a yoghurt-based mini-drink undergoing low or minimal food manufacturing (thermal and shear) processes. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Study 1: Twenty-four healthy volunteers (16 female, 8 male; age: 18 --47 years; body mass index (BMI): 17 --28 kg m À2 ) took part in a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind parallel crossover trial. Consumption of a minimally processed 'preload' mini-drink (containing two different doses of Fabuless or a control fat) at 2 h after breakfast was followed by appetite and mood ratings, and food intake measured in ad libitum meals at 3 and 7 h post consumption of the preload. Study 2: As Study 1 (16 female, 8 male; age: 20 --54 years; BMI: 21 --30 kg m À2 ). A chilled, virtually unprocessed, preload breakfast mini-drink (containing minimally processed Fabuless or a control fat) was provided 5 min after a standardised breakfast, followed by appetite and mood ratings, and food intake measured in ad libitum meals at 4 and 8 h post consumption of the preload. RESULTS: The structured lipid emulsion tested had no significant effect on the primary measures of food intake or appetite. CONCLUSIONS: Even when exposed to minimal food-manufacturing conditions, Fabuless showed no efficacy on measures of appetite and food intake. Keywords: fats; emulsions; energy intake; appetite; satiety response; food manufacture INTRODUCTION One theoretical approach for the design of foods for weight control could be the application of technologies that deliver increased amounts of food macronutrients to the jejunum and ileum, triggering a satiety response involving glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 (refs 1--4) (reviewed in Maljaars et al. 5 ). A food ingredient that claims to achieve this is Fabuless (previously called Olibra and Reducal), a 42% fat emulsion formulated from oat oil and palm oil fractions currently marketed by the DMS Food Specialties BV (Delft, The Netherlands) for satiety benefits in food applications 6 in around 25 countries. 7 As recently reviewed in a meta-analysis by Appleton et al., 8 an initial series of research publications reported extraordinary effects of Fabuless on energy intake, which was reduced by up to 27% when compared with a control fat. 9 --11 Even the lowest tested concentration of 5% of this product in a yoghurt vehicle produced a remarkable 22% reduction in energy intake 4 h posttreatment. 11 All of these initial studies were performed by the same research group, but the results have never been replicated in latter work, 12 --14 even from the same group. 15 Although Diepvens et al. 12 reported an appetite-suppressing effect of this product only in a subset of young, normal-weight subjects in post-hoc analyses, and a positive effect on body-weight maintenance, the use of a parallel design and the lack of a clear supporting hypothesis makes these results difficult to i...

Dietary lipids with potential to affect satiety: Mechanisms and evidence

“…Early studies conducted at the University of Ulster showed that this product decreased energy intake by an impressive 22-27% when compared to a control fat in lean, overweight and obese subjects (Burns et al 2002(Burns et al , 2001(Burns et al , 2000. These results have, unfortunately, not been replicated (Smit et al 2011;Smit et al 2012;Chan et al 2012), even by the same research group (Logan et al 2006). Smit and colleagues investigated the possible role in the processing of the emulsion, and even with minimal processing (i.e.…”

“…no shear and a maximum temperature of 42°C), there were effects on subjective appetite or energy intake (H. J. Smit et al 2012). This may explain why the early studies from Burns' group found positive effects, whereas later studies did not; as processing may have rendered the active ingredient in the test drinks inactive.…”

Reduced-Fat Foods: The Complex Science of Developing Diet-Based Strategies for Tackling Overweight and Obesity

“…Indeed, DSM (a Dutch ingredient manufacturer) has introduced an emulsionbased ingredient (Fabuless) that has been claimed to have an appetite-suppressing effect, which is reported to work by slowing down the transit time of the fat through the GIT thereby inducing the ileal brake mechanism (112). Nevertheless, other studies reported no substantial effect of this structured emulsion on food intake or appetite in human trials, which may have been due to the effects of the food matrix or processing (113,114). Clearly, further studies are needed to better understand the roles of fat droplet properties, the surrounding food matrix, and processing operations on the digestion of emulsified lipids in foods.…”

Applying Structuring Approaches for Satiety

“…However, results for appetite-related measures in clinical trials with this ingredient have been highly variable (Appleton et al, 2011). However, later studiesdincluding those from the same research groupdhave been largely unable to replicate these findings in any consistent way, using a range of protocols and products, including yoghurts (Logan et al, 2006;Diepvens et al, 2007Diepvens et al, , 2008Smit et al, 2011Smit et al, , 2012Chan et al, 2012). However, later studiesdincluding those from the same research groupdhave been largely unable to replicate these findings in any consistent way, using a range of protocols and products, including yoghurts (Logan et al, 2006;Diepvens et al, 2007Diepvens et al, , 2008Smit et al, 2011Smit et al, , 2012Chan et al, 2012).…”

“…Initial studies reported that yoghurts containing this ingredient reduced self-reported appetite and markedly decreased subsequent food intake (Burns et al, 2000(Burns et al, , 2001(Burns et al, , 2002. Importantly, several of the studies have suggested that any possible efficacy of the emulsion may likely be lost when it is exposed to even mild food processing conditions and formats other than yoghurt (Smit et al, , 2012Chan et al, 2012). Importantly, several of the studies have suggested that any possible efficacy of the emulsion may likely be lost when it is exposed to even mild food processing conditions and formats other than yoghurt (Smit et al, , 2012Chan et al, 2012).…”