Supercharged fibre approved in Europe to cut weight gain

A European safety nod is paving the way for foods fortified with a “supercharged” fibre—called inulin-propionate ester (IPE)—that can stimulate GLP-1 and PYY, appetite-hormone signals linked to weight control. Researchers say daily use helped prevent weight ga

The next time you reach for a cereal bowl or a smoothie. it could contain a fibre designed to do more than feed gut bacteria. Under a new approval by the European Food Safety Authority. a “supercharged” form of dietary fibre called inulin-propionate ester (IPE) is now considered safe to add to foods—opening the door to products that aim to shift appetite and body composition through hormone signals such as GLP-1.

For Gary Frost at Imperial College London. the road from lab idea to food ingredient has been long. but the payoff is clear: in a randomised-controlled trial in middle-aged people. daily consumption prevented weight gain. “We showed in a randomised-controlled trial in middle-aged people that when it’s consumed daily. it prevents weight gain. ” Frost said. He added that in young people. the scale didn’t move in the same way. but body composition did: “In young people. although you don’t see the impact on body weight. you see a change in body composition. These young people ended up with a higher lean body mass.”.

Dietary fibre, by design, isn’t digested by the body. Instead, some of it reaches the large intestine, where bacteria break it down and produce short-chain fatty acids. When the gut senses these fatty acids, it can trigger hormones that curb appetite, including PYY and GLP-1. The action of GLP-1 is mimicked by weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic. which has helped fuel intense interest in whether food-based approaches can reproduce at least part of that effect.

But there’s a catch: the amount of fibre typically required to reliably generate enough short-chain fatty acids is often out of reach. Douglas Morrison at the University of Glasgow. UK. points to animal studies suggesting people might need around 80 grams of fibre to produce sufficient short-chain fatty acids to trigger the hormone release. Most dietary guidelines—Morrison notes—recommend at least 25 or 30 grams of fibre per day. yet many people do not reach those targets.

The promise of IPE is that it can deliver a similar gut signal with a much smaller daily dose. Morrison and colleagues say that just 10 grams a day of IPE can trigger the effect.

In the trial Frost. Morrison and their colleagues ran in overweight adults aged between 40 and 65. the pattern was hormonal and behavioural. After a 10 gram dose of IPE, blood levels of GLP-1 and PYY increased, and people taking IPE ate less. Over six months. the outcome separated the groups: none of the people on IPE gained a significant amount of weight. while 17 per cent of the controls did. The only side effect reported was increased flatulence, which Morrison says is common with high-fibre diets.

A second randomised-controlled trial, involving 270 overweight people aged between 20 and 40, produced a different kind of result. After a year, there was no difference in body weight between those who took IPE and those who did not. Still, the fat-free mass of people on IPE increased by more than a kilogram on average.

That distinction—prevention of weight gain in older participants, changes in lean mass in younger participants—has become central to how IPE is being pitched. It is also part of the reason the approval may feel like a breakthrough, even as questions remain.

IPE itself was created 15 years ago by Frost. when he was trying to understand what short-chain fatty acids such as propionate do in the large intestine. Feeding propionate directly to people. Morrison says. isn’t straightforward because it tastes vile and gets absorbed before reaching the large intestine. “Your only option is to stick a tube in from the top. or to stick a tube up from the bottom. and neither of these are particularly pleasant. ” Morrison said.

So Morrison attached propionate to a fibre called inulin to form IPE. Inulin is a common carbohydrate found in many plants and is already widely taken as a supplement. Once eaten, IPE passes through the stomach and small intestine and is split apart by bacteria in the large intestine. The released inulin becomes a normal type of fibre. while the released propionate helps raise short-chain fatty acid levels enough to trigger GLP-1 and PYY. “[The propionate] is supercharging a dose of fibre,” Morrison said.

Getting to the regulatory finish line took time. Frost and Morrison say it has taken 12 years to obtain European Food Safety Authority approval. Frost described the milestone with unusual emphasis for an academic research story: “I don’t know of any other academic groups that have taken something from the bench into a state where it can be used in the food chain.”.

While the approval applies only in the European Union. the expectation is that the United Kingdom’s regulator will move quickly. Frost and Morrison are already speaking to companies about launching products containing IPE—smoothies, cereals and breads. Morrison believes momentum could translate into shelves within a year: “I think within 12 months this could be appearing on the market in the EU for sure.”.

Most people, Frost says, cannot taste added IPE. A very small proportion, he adds, can sense a bitter taste.

Still, not everyone is convinced. Brendan Gabriel at the University of Aberdeen, UK, argues that the evidence for IPE’s benefits is not very strong. He points out that the trial showing prevention of weight gain in people over 40 involved small numbers of participants. And while the study showing increased fat-free mass in people aged between 20 and 40 involved larger numbers. Gabriel says the method used did not show whether the increased lean mass was muscle or another type of non-fat tissue. Gabriel also offers a more cautious framing: “But eating fibre as part of a healthy diet. or in IPE supplement form. may have other health benefits and may support gut health.”.

For Frost, the approval doesn’t end the investigation—it shifts it. The team hopes to do further studies, including whether IPE can help preserve lean mass in people taking GLP-1 drugs, and whether it can reduce weight gain when people stop taking those medications.

inulin-propionate ester IPE GLP-1 PYY dietary fibre European Food Safety Authority overweight gut health short-chain fatty acids Ozempic