EU approves inulin-propionate ester fibre additive shown to raise appetite-suppressing hormones

The European Food Safety Authority has approved inulin-propionate ester, or IPE, as safe for human consumption. The fibre additive triggers increased blood levels of the hormones GLP-1 and PYY, which reduce appetite. Gary Frost at Imperial College London said a randomised-controlled trial of 60 overweight people aged 40 to 65 found that daily 10-gram doses of IPE raised GLP-1 and PYY levels and lowered food intake.

After six months none of the IPE group gained significant weight, while 17 percent of the control group did. A second trial of 270 overweight people aged 20 to 40 showed no difference in body weight after one year, but the IPE group gained more than one kilogram of fat-free mass on average.

Douglas Morrison at the University of Glasgow said ordinary dietary fibre would need to reach roughly 80 grams a day to produce comparable hormone effects, far above the 25-to-30-gram daily recommendations in many countries.

IPE achieves the same result at 10 grams because propionate is chemically attached to inulin, releasing the short-chain fatty acid only after gut bacteria break it down in the large intestine. The only reported side effect was increased flatulence. Frost and Morrison created IPE 15 years ago and spent 12 years obtaining the EU approval.

They expect the UK regulator to follow the EU decision shortly and said fortified breads, smoothies and cereals could appear on the market within 12 months. Brendan Gabriel at the University of Aberdeen noted that the smaller trial involved limited numbers of participants and that the larger trial did not distinguish whether the added fat-free mass was muscle or other tissue.

Frost said the team plans further studies on IPE use alongside GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.