Inulin-Propionate Ester Study: IPE Shown to Burn Fat, Suppress Appetite and Boost Weight Loss

Could Weight Loss Happen Post-Workout? One Dietary Protein Supplement May Help

• The supplement is called inulin-propionate ester (IPE).
• The original research was performed on 20 women, falling between the ages of 25 and 45 with no changes to the diet.

Working out is one of the top ways that consumers work to get in shape, but the Metabolism Journal is now revealing a new supplement that can help exercise-induced weight loss. The supplement, which is called inulin-propionate ester (IPE), could potentially reduce cravings for foods that often have a high content of calories. IPE is also meant to help with fat oxidation, inherently “burning” body fat and boosting the body's weight loss efforts.

The study, titled “Moderate intensity exercise training combined with inulin-propionate ester supplementation increases whole body resting fat oxidation in overweight women”, which was led by the University of Glasgow and funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, used 20 healthy volunteers through a four week program involving moderate-intensity workouts. The volunteers were aged 25 to 45 who were all overweight. While the women were instructed to maintain their typical diets, they added in IPE or a placebo during the study. Propionate is a natural short-chain fatty acid (SCFAs) that breaks down quickly in the body once the dietary fiber digestion process takes place by gut microbes.

On the reasons for pursuing this research, study author Douglas Morrison of the Scottish Universities Environment Research Centre, remarked,

“There's a great deal of interest at the moment in how our gut microbiota affects our health and well-being.”[…] “Adding moderate exercise to your daily routine is a good thing for your cardiovascular and general health, but the effects it has on the amount of fat which you burn while at rest and after a meal can be inconsistent and these effects don't easily translate enough to changes in body composition and body mass.” […] “That's backed up by the results from the placebo group in this test, but it’s interesting that those who took the IPE supplement saw a significant and long-lasting boost to the rate which they burned fat.”

To check out these effects, the researchers examined the resting fat oxidation levels in blood and gas samples, which were taken before and after the trial. They also collected samples before and after breakfast, as well as after lunch.

During the research, the placebo group had no changes in their fat burning ability. However, the women who took IPE had a much higher rate of burning fat, and the activity to do so was ongoing for several hours after the supplement was taken. Based on these early findings, the researchers believe that IPE is designed for lasting effects on the appetite, as well as fat oxidation.

Dalia Malkova, a co-author in the study, called the preliminary results “promising,” but added that the study had “limitations,” considering the short span of time it covered. Now, the researchers hope to create a trial with a larger group, spanning a longer period of time as well.

Professor Gary Frost, Chair in Nutrition and Dietetics at Imperial, commented,

“We know that a healthy, varied and balanced diet is key to maintaining health, but sometimes it is difficult to achieve this. These results are encouraging in that they show this potential food supplement, when combined with exercise, can help people burn through their fat stores faster, decreases appetite and could in the long term help to achieve a healthy weight. We’re interested to explore this further in larger and more varied groups of people and see whether the effects are short lived or if they last over time.”

Since there is still more progress to be made to achieve approval from regulators, the IPE supplement is not yet available for consumer use. However, the team researching the supplement assures the public, according an article in Imperial, that there have yet to be any adverse side effects with the substance’s use. The IPE dietary supplement study was registered at the ClinicalTrials.gov website and concluded their results by saying:

“Moderate intensity exercise training programmes when combined with daily oral IPE supplementation may help overweight women to achieve increase in fat oxidation.”

The future sounds promising for inulin-propionate ester (IPE) supplementation paired with exercising, as suppressing appetite for high-calorie food cravings and burning whole body fat while resting to enhance weight loss efforts is at the top of every dieter's wish list in 2020 and beyond.