EU Approves Fibre That Triggers GLP-1 Release
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- EFSA approved inulin-propionate ester (IPE) as safe to eat, allowing it to be added to foods sold across the EU, with the UK regulator expected to follow.
- IPE triggers release of appetite-suppressing hormones GLP-1 and PYY at just 10 grams per day, versus an estimated 80 grams of ordinary fibre required to produce the same short-chain fatty acid effect.
- A trial of 60 overweight people aged 40–65 found that after six months, none taking IPE had gained significant weight, compared with 17% of controls; the only side effect reported was increased flatulence.
- A second trial of 270 overweight people aged 20–40 found no body-weight difference after a year, but fat-free mass increased by more than a kilogram on average in the IPE group.
- Gary Frost at Imperial College London and Douglas Morrison at the University of Glasgow created IPE 15 years ago by attaching propionate to inulin so it survives digestion and reaches the large intestine; the team then spent 12 years securing EFSA approval.
- Brendan Gabriel at the University of Aberdeen argued the evidence isn't strong: the positive weight-gain trial was small, and the lean-mass measurement couldn't distinguish muscle from other non-fat tissue.
- The research team is now talking to food companies about IPE-enriched products and plans further studies, including whether IPE can preserve lean mass during GLP-1 drug use or curb rebound weight gain after patients stop those drugs.
Why it matters: IPE works through the same GLP-1/PYY hormone pathway that Ozempic and similar drugs target — at a fraction of the dose of regular fibre — and the team is now designing trials specifically for use alongside, or after stopping, GLP-1 medications. If even partially effective, a 10-gram daily fibre additive could become a low-cost food-based complement to injectable obesity drugs, or an option for the far larger population that never accesses them.
