Satiety: Herbal Satisfaction

This article is a part of a larger feature: Satiety:Feeling Full and Satisfied.

Numerous herbs have made their case as satiety supplements. A 2002 Maastricht University, Netherlands, trial in overweight men and women found HCA treatment reduced 24-hour energy intake in humans, while sustaining satiety.¹

From plants to fruits and vegetables, other botanicals have also turned in positive benefits to satiety factors. A 2009 University of Copenhagen, Denmark, research report detailed how CH-19 sweet pepper and a combination of capsaicin and green tea reduced energy intake during positive energy balance.² Also, capsaicin and green tea suppressed hunger and increased satiety more during negative energy balance than during positive energy balance. Researchers concluded, "Bioactive ingredients may therefore be helpful in reducing energy intake and might support weight loss periods by relatively sustaining satiety and suppressing hunger."

Capsaicin has produced similar results on its own. University of Maastricht scientists investigated the effects of capsaicin on ghrelin, PYY and GLP-1, relative to changes in hunger and satiety, detailing their findings in a 2009 report.³ Subjects aged 17 to 45 and with a BMI between 25 and 27 consumed a lunch meal (carb/protein/fat = 60/10/30) either with or without capsaicin; thermogenesis was measured up to three hours after the meal, as were levels of the various satiety hormones. There were no differences in satiety or energy expenditure between the two lunch types, but 15 minutes following lunch, the capsaicin group had increased GLP-1 and decreased ghrelin; PYY was unchanged.

Maastricht scientists also studied green tea in a separate trial.⁴ Their 2009 study involved 80 overweight and moderately obese subjects with low-habitual caffeine intake who underwent a very-low-energy diet intervention for four weeks followed by three months of weight maintenance. During this maintenance phase, subjects took either a green tea-caffeine mixture (270 mg epigallocatechin gallate + 150 mg caffeine/d) or placebo; they also received either an adequate protein diet (50-60 g protein/d) or a high-protein diet (100-120 g protein/d). During the intervention phase, all high-protein groups experienced increased weight control, resting energy expenditure and fat-free mass, as did those on adequate protein intake who also took green tea and caffeine. However, satiety was only affected in the high-protein groups.

Caralluma fimbriata has also been shown to suppress appetite. A 2007 trial from St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India, featured adult men and women aged 25 to 60 years with a BMI greater than 25 who took either 1 g/d of C. fimbriata (as Slimaluma, from Gencor Pacific) or placebo for 60 days.⁵ Waist circumference and hunger levels over the observation period significantly declined in the Slimaluma group, compared to placebo. Researchers theorized glycosides in C. fimbriata may inhibit the hunger sensory mechanism of the hypothalamus.

Glycosides in Hoodia may have a similar effect on appetite. A 2007 South African research report noted glycosides in extracts from two hoodia species, Hoodia pilifera and Hoodia gordonii, have appetite suppressing properties.⁶ Compared to controls, one of these glycosides was linked to a reduction in food intake and a subsequent decrease in body weight.

Those seeking increased satiety may soon reach for some cinnamon raisin bread, if they give credence to a pair of 2009 reports. University of Connecticut, Storrs, researchers found raisin consumption may reduce hunger and impact dietary intake by altering satiety hormones, including ghrelin.⁷ Malmö University Hospital, Sweden, scientists added results showing ingestion of 3 g/d of cinnamon reduced postprandial serum insulin and increased GLP-1 concentrations, although they found no significantly effect on ghrelin concentration, satiety or gastric emptying rate in healthy subjects.⁸

Decreasing hunger and food intake can often result in decreased resting metabolic rate (RMR). Countering this can be a beneficial addition to satiety control. A natural metabolite of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), called 7-oxo (as 7-Keto, from Humanetics), has been shown to increase daily RMR by a statistically significant 5.4 percent, when taken during calorie restriction and compared to placebo.⁹ As an activator of three thermogenic enzymes, 7-Keto can help increase weight-loss.¹⁰

References on the next page...

References for "Satiety: Herbal Satisfaction"

1. Westerterp-Plantenga MS and Kovacs EM. "The effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate on energy intake and satiety in overweight humans." Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002 Jun;26(6):870-2.

2. Reinbach HC et al. "Effects of capsaicin, green tea and CH-19 sweet pepper on appetite and energy intake in humans in negative and positive energy balance." Clin Nutr. 2009 Apr 2. Epub ahead of print.

3. Smeets AJ and Westerterp-Plantenga MS. "The acute effects of a lunch containing capsaicin on energy and substrate utilisation, hormones, and satiety." Eur J Nutr. 2009 Feb 24. Epub ahead of print.

4. Hursel R and Westerterp-Plantenga MS. "Green tea catechin plus caffeine supplementation to a high-protein diet has no additional effect on body weight maintenance after weight loss." Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Mar;89(3):822-30.

5. Kuriyan R et al. "Effect of Caralluma fimbriata extract on appetite, food intake and anthropometry in adult Indian men and women." Appetite. 2007 May;48(3):338-44.

6. Van Heerden FR et al. "An appetite suppressant from Hoodia species." Phytochemistry. 2007 Oct;68(20):2545-53.

7. Puglisis MJ et al. "Raisins and walking alter appetite hormones and plasma lipids by modifications in lipoprotein metabolism and up-regulation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor." Metabolism. 2009 Jan;58(1):120-8.

8. Hlebowicz J et al. "Effects of 1 and 3 g cinnamon on gastric emptying, satiety, and postprandial blood glucose, insulin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, glucagon-like peptide 1, and ghrelin concentrations in healthy subjects." Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Mar;89(3):815-21

9. Zenk JL et al. "HUM5007, a novel combination of thermogenic compounds, and 3-acetyl-7-oxo-dehydroepiandrosterone: each increases the resting metabolic rate of overweight adults." J Nutr Biochem. 2007 Sep;18(9):629-34.

10. 28.Kalmann DS et al. “A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study of 3-acetyl-7-oxo-dehydroepiandrosterone in healthy overweight adults.” Curr Ther Res. 2000;61(7):435-42.