Scope
Slowly digestible starch (SDS), as a functional carbohydrate providing a slow and sustained glucose release, may be able to modulate food intake through activation of the gut–brain axis.
Methods and results
Diet‐induced obese rats were used to test the effect on feeding behavior of high‐fat (HF) diets containing an SDS, fabricated to digest into the ileum, as compared to rapidly digestible starch (RDS). Ingestion of the HF‐SDS diet over an 11‐week period reduced daily food intake, through smaller meal size, to the same level as a lean body control group, while the group consuming the HF‐RDS diet remained at a high food intake. Expression levels (mRNA) of the hypothalamic orexigenic neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Agouti‐related peptide (AgRP) were significantly reduced, and the anorexigenic corticotropin‐releasing hormone (CRH) was increased, in the HF‐SDS fed group compared to the HF‐RDS group, and to the level of the lean control group.
Conclusion
SDS with digestion into the ileum reduced daily food intake and paralleled suppressed expression of appetite‐stimulating neuropeptide genes associated with the gut–brain axis. This novel finding suggests further exploration involving a clinical study and potential development of SDS‐based functional foods as an approach to obesity control.