Propionate: Hypophagic Effects Observed in Animal Models Might be Transposed to the Human Obesity Management

Volatile fatty acids (VFA) are the main energy source for ruminants, generally accounting for 50-75% of energy digested. They are produced from microbial fermentation of food in the rumen and are known to control food intake. Propionic acid, which is a major VFA produced in the rumen, is responsible of a feeding-induced behavior regulation in ruminants and its absorption results in a down-regulated energy intake in these animals. Although hypophagic effects of propionate have been extensively documented in ruminants and other farm animals, such evidence is almost nonexistent in humans. Interestingly, one human investigation tested the glycemic and insulinemic responses to ingestion of breads enriched with different additives. Amongst tested breads, propionic acid-enriched bread prolonged the duration of satiety compared with other breads tested. Therefore, the current literature survey reviews the physiological understanding of satiety control established in ruminants to bring up novel insights of feeding behavior control in human. Eventually, these challenging hypophagic properties of propionate could be transposed to the field of human obesity management.