Pine Nuts Might Help Promote Satiety

In late March at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Jennifer L. Causey, Ph.D., nutrition manager, Lipid Nutrition, Channahon, IL, presented the results from a recent study on the effects of Korean pine nuts on satiety.

Causey and her colleagues found that pinolenic acid, a compound present in the oil found in the pine nuts, appears to promote the release of cholecystokinin (CCK) and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1). These two gastrointestinal hormones promote satiety by sending signals to the brain that the stomach is full.

The study involved determining the effects of either pine-nut oil--in the form of Lipid Nutrition's PinnoThin ingredient--or an olive-oil placebo on 18 overweight women. The pine-nut sample contained 3 grams of pinolenic acid. The women ingested the oils in gel-capsule form and then ate a carb-heavy breakfast of white bread and marmalade. Researchers then measured the subjects' hormone levels at 30-minute intervals for two hours, and then again one and two hours later.

After one week, the researchers switched the groups to compare the results. In both instances, Causey and her colleagues noted the release of CCK and GLP-1 in the women who took the pine-nut oil capsule. Those women also reported a decreased desire to eat and a continued desire to eat less food during their next meal compared to women given the olive-oil capsule. The women's appetites fell by approximately one third.

Causey notes that the polyunsaturated fatty acids in pine-nut oil might form a beneficial part of a weight-loss program that includes diet and exercise. She added that related studies are currently in the works.

Other researchers also released study results related to plant compounds during the ACS annual meeting--one on the ability of grape-seed extract to lower blood pressure and another on chives' ability to protect against Salmonella and other foodborne illnesses. All of these foods certainly have the possibility to do what the researchers saw, notes Dr. Ken Fujioka, director, Department of Nutrition and Metabolism, Scripps Clinic, San Diego. "The pine nut, in particular, has been noted before as an appetite-controller, so their finding makes sense. The question would be, 'Is it enough to make a clinical difference?' And it could very well do that."

Korean pine nuts, harvested from the Korean pine tree (Pinus koraiensis), are widely considered the most-valuable pine nut in international trade. All pine nuts have higher levels of healthy polyunsaturated fats than other nuts, as well as more protein than other nuts or seeds, with 31 grams of protein per 100 grams of nuts.