A newstudypublished inNutrientslooked at the effect of encapsulated nutrients on satiety. Researchers acknowledged previous research that found that infusing nutrients into the distal small intestine inhibits food intake and enhances satiety by activating an intestinal brake, and attempted to imitate the results using orally ingested microencapsulated casein and sucrose.
The study was double-blind and randomized. It was conducted on 59 volunteers who received either the active or control product on two separate test days. Food intake was determined during a meal 90 minutes after ingestion of the product, and visual analogue scale scores for satiety and blood samples for glucose analysis were collected at regular intervals.
Hunger was decreased and satiety increased significantly for the test group compared to the control group, although much less drastically than when the nutrients were delivered via intestinal intubation.
The researchers concluded by noting that the study was designed to deliver evidence for the proof of concept, not perfect a delivery method, find biological proof that the intestinal brake was activated, or discover whether or not this method is useful long-term. Thus, they said, a larger, longer study is necessary to clarify these issues.
