No efficacy of processed Fabuless™ (Olibra™) in suppressing appetite or food intake

Hendrik Jan Smit (1) , Emma Keenan (1) , Eva Kovacs (1) , Sheila Wiseman (1) , Harry Petrus Ferdinand Peters (1) , David Mela (1) , Peter Rogers (1)

1 Functional Food Centre

Background/Objectives: To investigate the feasibility of Fabuless™ (previously called Olibra™ and Reducal™) as a food ingredient for food intake and appetite reduction, by assessing the effects of food processing on efficacy. Subjects/Methods: Twenty-four healthy volunteers (16 female, 8 male; age: 18-43 years; BMI: 18-37 kg/m2) took part in a randomised, placebo controlled, double-blind, cross-over trial. Yoghurt-based meal replacement drinks (containing processed or unprocessed Fabuless™, or a control fat) were followed by an ad libitum lunch and evening meal (dinner). Key outcome measures were energy intake and self-reported appetite ratings. Results: Compared with control, only unprocessed Fabuless™ reduced subsequent energy intake, though only during the evening meal (P<0.01; control, processed and unprocessed: 4.3, 3.9 and 4.2MJ respectively) and not during lunch (3.6, 3.7 and 3.6MJ). Self-reported appetite scores did not differ between treatments. Conclusions: While modest effects of unprocessed Fabuless™ were seen on food intake, but not on appetite, the ingredient was not robust to common food manufacturing processes (thermal and shear processing). Claims on reduced food intake and appetite relating to this ingredient in food products are therefore only valid where functionality has been demonstrated after all relevant processing and storage steps.

Mots clés: fats; emulsions; energy intake; appetite; satiety response; food manufacture

Hendrik Jan Smit, Emma Keenan, Eva Kovacs, Sheila Wiseman, Harry Petrus Ferdinand Peters, et al.. No efficacy of processed Fabuless™ (Olibra™) in suppressing appetite or food intake. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010, ⟨10.1038/ejcn.2010.187⟩. ⟨hal-00578714⟩