A recent paper published in Foods found that intake of pomegranate extract and juice can reduce appetite, as measured by parameters of satiety.
Study: Effect of pomegranate extract consumption on satiety parameters in healthy volunteers: a preliminary randomized study. Image credit: Agave Studio/Shutterstock
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Obesity is a multifactorial disease and the associated comorbidities cause a considerable public health burden worldwide. The prevalence of obesity is increasing, one of the modifiable factors being the consumption of high-calorie foods. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the nature of satiety.
The ability to control appetite has already been identified as crucial to the progress of dietary treatments for obesity. It is well known that feelings of hunger play a key role in the regulation of energy intake. It is essential to look for new complementary strategies to combat obesity, given the difficulty patients suffer in adopting long-term changes in their eating habits and the levels of physical activity necessary to lose weight.
Nutraceutical supplementation may provide an alternative modality for weight loss, as they help reduce obesity-related cardiometabolic risk factors without imposing dietary modifications. Nutraceuticals or dietary supplements have also proven to be effective tools for treating pathological conditions such as obesity, as they contain high levels of bioactive compounds that confer health benefits.
The health benefits of pomegranate juice intake are attributed to the high content of antioxidant polyphenols, especially the components: tannins, anthocyanins and ellagic acid derivatives.
Pomegranate juice and extracts have also been found to reduce food consumption and body weight in animals. However, research into the benefits of pomegranate juice is still in its early stages.
A new study
A new study examined the effects of pomegranate juice on satiety parameters in healthy individuals to investigate the role of pomegranate extract in promoting satiety and reducing food intake.
The current work involved a small-scale exploratory study conducted to evaluate the effects of pomegranate extract (PE) on blood pressure, stress hormone levels, insulin resistance and quality of life of healthy volunteers. This randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the aforementioned parameters on a normal day (morning and noon) to investigate the effects of pomegranate extract intake.
Here, 28 subjects were randomly assigned to receive three weeks of amour supplementation with a pomegranate extract (PE) formulation or a placebo. Both groups were matched demographically, in terms of age and body mass index (BMI).
During the third week, participants consumed PE juice for breakfast and lunch. Satiety parameters were assessed using visual analog scales (VAS) that were recorded to assess overall hunger and the acceptability and palatability of both the juices and the test meals.
discoveries
There were no side effects or adverse events reported by either group during the screening assessment. The group that took PE capsules and drank PE juice demonstrated lower levels of hunger and desire to eat and higher levels of satisfaction and fullness compared to the placebo (control) group.
A statistically significant difference in overall VAS scores for meal quality was observed between study groups. Subjects treated with PE priming scored higher than those treated with placebo. Compared to the placebo group, the PE preparation group consumed significantly less food.
Overall, the results indicated that subjects in the PE group who drank PE juice were generally more satisfied than those in the placebo group. After administration of PE capsules along with PE juice at mealtimes, participants were less hungry than after taking placebo capsules.
The results of paired t-tests (Mann-Whitney U-test) for the VAS appetite measures demonstrated significant differences between groups and a clear trend towards a lower level of hunger and desire to eat, a level more high satiety and satisfaction, as well as more satiety, in participants consuming PE with PE juice.
The fact that these trends were observed only in the group consuming PE and PE juices emphasizes the need for further research with a larger sample size.
conclusion
The results indicate that PE and PE juice can modulate satiety indicators. However, the limitations of the survey methodology, the limited number of participants and the quality of the data produced do not allow for strong conclusions.
However, the results look promising. An evaluation of the effect of PE extract and PE juice on satiety parameters is necessary and further trials with a larger number of volunteers are warranted.