We use cookies on our website. Some are necessary for the operation of the website. You can also allow cookies for statistical purposes. You can adjust the data protection settings or agree to all cookies directly.
Data Protection Declaration
Imprint
Identification of satiating compounds in dietary fats and optimization of low-fat foods by adding satiating lipoid compounds
Project
Project code: AiF 15961 N
Contract period: 01.01.2009
- 31.12.2012
Budget: 370,050 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
The prevalence of overweight is constantly increasing across the population of
Western countries. Obesity and overweight result from an imbalance between the energy consumed and the physical activity performed. With lifestyles becoming
more sedentary, the intake of energy-dense foods, in particular those rich in saturated fats, contributes to the growing prevalence of overweight and obesity. The food industry has responded to the consumer demand for less energy-dense foods by offering an increasing variety of low-fat eating choices. However,
several animal and human intervention studies showed that consumption of low-fat products may conduct to a reduction of fat intake, whereas the total energy uptake is higher. Our hypothesis, therefore, was, that the intake of dietary
fat affects mechanisms regulating satiety. Results from human intervention
studies have already demonstrated that fatty acids contribute to satiation, depending on their degree of saturation and number of carbon atoms. The aim of
this project was to evaluate the satiating effects of different types of fat in two human intervention studies, and to elucidate the molecular mechanisms in cell
culture experiments using human hepatic cancer cells (HepG2). In the first human
intervention study, total amounts of 8 % olive oil, canola oil, lard or milk fats
were added to low-fat yoghurt (0.1 % fat). Five hundred grams of each of these
yoghurts were administered to healthy volunteers for three month. Consumption
of olive oil-enriched yoghurt increased serum serotonin levels and resulted
in improved subjective satiation of the volunteers. Administration of the canola
oil-enriched yoghurt resulted in increased leptin levels, but also led to a higher body fat mass. In cell culture experiments with human hepatocytes, biomimetic mixtures of quantitatively pre-dominant fatty acids in olive oil and canola oil stimulated the cellular glucose uptake less than fatty acid mixtures corresponding to lard or milk fat. Since the fatty acid pattern of these two vegetable oils is very similar, whereas olive oil showed the stronger satiating effect in the human intervention study, aroma compounds present in olive oil were tested for their effects on mechanisms regulating satiety.
In a second human intervention study, 500 g low-fat yoghurt (0.1 % fat) was enriched with an aroma extract prepared from 120 ml olive oil. Compared to volunteers from the control group, who received the low-fat yoghurt and demonstrated an increased body fat mass and increased serotonin levels at the end of the intervention, consumption of the aroma-enriched yoghurt led to significantly reduced body fat mass and stable serotonin levels. Cell culture experiments confirmed the impact of olive oil aroma compounds on cellular glucose uptake, being one of the mechanisms regulating satiety. In these experiments, hexanal and E2-hexenal being two of the predominant aroma active compounds in olive oil, were identified as key active compounds. In conclusion, this study showed - for the first time - that aroma compounds, in particular hexanal and E2-hexenal predominantly present in olive oil, elicit satiating effects.
Section overview
Subjects
- Physiology of Nutrition
- Food Chemistry
- Nutritional behaviour
Collaborative Project
Saturated fat perception and regulation: approach to the development of reduced-fat foods
