Could guar gum help satiety?
The researchers looked at the impact of partially hydrolysed guar gum (PHGG) on perceived satiety and energy intakes in three sub-studies.
The results, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, suggested the addition of PHGG had both acute and long-term satiety effects compared to the control and/or an equal amount of carbohydrate or other types of soluble fibre.
One of the studies also showed that prolonged consumption may significantly reduce energy intake from whole-day snacking.
“PHGG could be an ideal natural soluble fibre for delivering acute and long term satiety effects for comfortable appetite control,” wrote the researchers from the Nagoya Keizai University and the Japanese ingredients firm Taiyo Kagaku.
In the first study 12 healthy participants were given PHGG to eat with breakfast, lunch and an evening snack. In the second, 24 healthy participants ate 2 g of PHGG or dextrin with yogurt for breakfast for two weeks. In the final study six healthy volunteers took 6 g each of either PHGG or indigestible dextrin or inulin with lunch.
Various satiety parameters were measured in a questionnaire (using visual analogue scales) before and after PHGG consumption in all three studies.
The researchers suggested that the short term satiety effect with high amounts (5–6 g) could be related to physical effects, whereas the impact of prolonged intakes of small amounts (2 g) could be both physiological and physical.
On a physical level, they said PHGG had high amounts of long chain polysaccharides with over nine monomers, which could form a matrix of the food and delay digestion and colonic transit time.
PHGG, made from guar beans, has a dietary fibre content of 85%.
Source: British Journal of Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi:10.1017/S0007114515000756
“Post-meal perceivable satiety and subsequent energy intake with intake of partially hydrolysed guar gum”
Author: T. Pradyumna Rao, M. Hayakawa, T. Minami, N. Ishihara, M. Parkash Kapoor, T. Ohkubo, L. Raj Juneja and K. Wakabayashi
