Delaying fat digestion to curb appetite

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Delaying fat digestion to curb appetite

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/nbi-dfd081810.php

Step towards designing fats that are digested more slowly

Institute of Food Research scientists have discovered an unexpected synergy that

helps break down fat. The discovery provides a focus to find ways to slow down

fat digestion, and ultimately to create food structures that induce satiety.

" Much of the fat in processed foods is eaten in the form of emulsions such as

soups, yoghurt, ice cream and mayonnaise, " " said Dr Wilde from the

Institute of Food Research, an institute of BBSRC. " We are unpicking the

mechanisms of digestion used to break them down so we can design fats in a

rational way that are digested more slowly. "

If the digestion of fat is delayed and fatty acids are able to reach the ileum,

the final section of the small intestine, their presence stimulates

satiety-inducing hormones.

IFR scientists have been experimenting with using protein layers to stabilise

emulsions and delay fat digestion.

In this study, they found that a normally-stable whey protein is partially

broken down when it is attached to the surface of an emulsion. When a surfactant

is introduced, this acts synergistically with the fat, breaking down the protein

layer even more effectively. With the barrier weakened, access is improved for

the enzymes and bile salts that break down fat.

" We are now experimenting with heat and enzyme treatments to reduce the

synergistic effect and make the protein barrier stronger, " said Dr Wilde.

The scientists at the Institute of Food Research are the only scientists seeking

the precise mechanisms by which emulsions behave under different conditions and

how they are digested so they can be used to control satiety.