OEA is a lipid that induces hypophagia - a reduced desire to eat - as well as lowering fat mass. It is produced after food is digested into oleic acid and omega-9.
Although OEA is naturally produced in the body, its production could be disrupted by gut dysbiosis, obesity and eating ultra-processed foods in the long run.
A single-blind, placebo-controlled, fixed-sequence, crossover clinical study conducted in Brisbane, Australia, reported that serum glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) levels could increase as soon as 15 minutes after taking OEA.
Taking OEA at a dose of 300mg was also found to produce GLP-1 at concentrations 20% to 25% higher than placebo.
Study method
A total of 43 overweight and obese participants who were not diagnosed with metabolic disorders like diabetes and hyperinsulinemia took part in the study.
Following an overnight fast of at least 10 hours, all participants took two capsules consisting of either two active capsules or two placebo capsules, or one active and one placebo capsule.
Each active capsule contains 150mg of OEA, commercially available as TRPTI, which is formulated using the Lipisperse delivery system by Pharmako to increase OEA bioavailability. The study materials were provided by Saanroo, which also funded the study.
As part of the study, participants consumed standardized breakfasts and lunches at the 25th minute and the 4th hour post-dose.
Changes in their blood samples and anthropometric measurements were then monitored over eight hours.
Aside from GLP-1, researchers also measured the serum concentrations of other hormones crucial in glucose regulation, including glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), glucagon and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), an enzyme that degrades GLP-1.
The intervention was repeated three times, with a minimum of six days’ washout in between.
Effects in 15 minutes
Effects of OEA intake can be seen within 15 minutes after supplementation, with the 300mg dose showing the most consistent biological activity, particularly for GLP-1, GIP and DPP-4 concentrations, with a statistically significant increase of 13.6%. This also corresponded to an approximately 20% elevation relative to placebo.
In contrast, serum concentrations of these glucose-regulating hormones declined by 6.4% and 24.4% in participants taking placebo and 150mg of TRPTI, respectively.
Group differences in GLP-1 serum concentrations persisted even after participants consumed their second meal, which was four hours post-OEA dose.
The 300mg TRPTI group maintained an elevated GLP-1 response 20.5% higher than baseline.
GLP-1 response in the placebo group was 4.6% below baseline, while GLP-1 response in the group taking 150mg TRIPTI was 17.5% below baseline. At this point, the GLP-1 response in the 300mg group was roughly 25% greater than placebo.
“The consistency of this pattern across repeated meal exposures supports a nutrient-dependent mechanism rather than a transient fluctuation,” wrote the researchers.
“We found that within 15 minutes of taking OEA, GLP-1 levels started going up, even without food, in a fasted state,” added Ramasamy Venkatesh, managing director of Saanroo. “Normally, your body doesn’t produce OEA during a fasted state, but when you eat, your body gets the signal to produce OEA. In a fasted state, when you consume OEA exogenously, the body starts producing GLP-1 and we’ve shown that.”
The researchers wrote that since treatment effects were observed under both post-prandial and fasting conditions, this suggests that TRPTI could augment enteroendocrine signalling and alter basal hormone secretion.
From microbiome research to uncovering GLP-1 potential
The clinical trial comes as the company was studying the gut microbiome modulating potential of OEA, said Ramasamy.
“The microbiome controls most of the biological functions in your body. While studying OEA’s effects on the microbiome, we saw that obese people lost weight. The good bacteria went up; bad bacteria came down and intestinal inflammation came down...” he said. “We saw one more thing, which was that baseline GLP-1 levels went up 21% from the beginning to the end of the study.”
Based on this observation, the company explored further and found that OEA would need to bind to GPR119, a receptor that potentiates GLP-1 release.
With the new clinical findings, Ramasamy believes that the company is redefining the science behind GLP-1.
“A lot of products in the market these days talk about GLP-1, but GLP-1 cannot be produced everywhere in the body and not every substance can produce GLP-1,” he said. “The way the body produces GLP-1 is through the binding of OEA to the GPR119 receptor in the L cells.”
The research also shows that OEA could be an alternative to GLP-1 receptor agonist medications, which are now known to cause side effects such as muscle loss and digestion problems.
“By supplementing OEA, we are helping the body’s GLP-1 production mechanism to be more efficient and fine-tuned,” he said.
There are also plans to apply for new health benefit claims for TRPTI, including in major markets such as the US, Australia and Canada. In Australia, the practitioner-only brand Designs for Health has already launched products containing TRPTI.
Upcoming research
Saanroo is planning further studies on OEA and its effects on metabolic health and health span.
“Ultimately, everything comes from metabolic health, including satiety, body fat, weight, liver, and then the intestines. We’ll be doing a lot more work on OEA and its effects on metabolic health-related areas,” said Ramasamy.
The company has also completed a pharmacokinetic study comparing TRPTI’s bioavailability and absorption with standard OEA.
It will also study if a lower dose of TRIPTI - at 50mg - is capable of elevating GLP-1 production in the body.
Source: Front. Endocrinol. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2026.1879799. “Acute TRPTI™ (oleoylethanolamide) supplementation enhances incretin hormone responses: a fixed-sequence crossover study." Authors: Briskey D, Pellow J, Viswanath P and Rao A.
