University news

A pioneering food additive that can stop people gaining weight has appeared on the EU’s Novel Food List, indicating its safety for human consumers.
 
Inulin propionate ester, or IPE, is a dietary fibre that has been developed and tested by scientists at Imperial College London and at SUERC, Centre for the Isotope Sciences at the University of Glasgow. It maximises the known benefits of a high-fibre diet, helping people to feel fuller for longer, with the aim of reducing the daily calorie surpluses than can drive long-term weight gain.
 
The white powder will in future be added to everyday foods such as smoothies, shots and cereals, or baked into bread. It can also be eaten as a standalone supplement.
 
Unlike medicines or weight loss drugs, IPE is a different approach to tackling obesity, keeping weight off before it develops into a problem. 
 
Professor Gary Frost, Chair in Nutrition and Dietetics at Imperial College London’s Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, said: “A small calorie surplus each day will lead to significant weight gain over time. Even one extra kilo a year in young adults is enough to create serious weight problems by middle age. We already know that a higher fibre intake can counter this, but we also know that most people find it difficult to take in enough fibre and are falling far short of the recommended intake levels.”
 
Randomised controlled trials by the team have shown that around 10 grams of IPE per day can regulate appetite and help prevent weight gain.
 
The ingredient is a mixture of inulin – a natural substance found in chicory and onions – and propionate, a naturally occurring short chain fatty acid.  IPE works by delivering propionate directly to receptors in the colon that trigger appetite‑regulating hormones - a targeted delivery system, that “supercharges” the gut’s normal bacterial fermentation process.
 
Professor Douglas Morrison of SUERC, University of Glasgow, said: “We have brought together two natural ingredients to stimulate appetite‑regulating hormones at exactly the right site in the gut. Although GLP‑1 receptor agonists have shown great results in helping people lose weight, IPE could help stop the kind of slow, steady weight gain that makes those drugs necessary.”
 
IPE was first developed in the lab by Professor Morrison, who collaborated over the next decade and a half with Professor Frost to explore the molecule’s potential as a food ingredient, with a series of clinical studies published in peer-reviewed journals. 
 
Some of these longer- term studies suggested additional benefits, including preservation of lean body mass, improved liver fat levels, and potential effects on immune and metabolic health.
 
 The scientists have spent a total of 15 years developing IPE while continuing with their other research responsibilities.
 
Their persistence was rewarded late last year when the European Food Safety Authority, which reviews toxicological, nutritional and microbiological data, issued a positive opinion. Final authorisation was granted by the European Commission, and it has now been formally added to the EU List of Authorised Novel Foods.
 
The researchers say winning approval for IPE shows that a ‘bench‑to‑consumer’ pathway is possible for academic innovations, even without the help of major industry pipelines. However patience is necessary, with the European Food Safety evaluation alone taking six years to complete. 
 
Despite its regulatory success, IPE is still early in its commercial journey. The research team can currently produce it only at a pilot scale of a few hundred kilograms at a time. To reach the wider market of consumers, they have now launched a spinout company, Satisfed, and are seeking industrial partners capable of scaling production to thousands of tonnes.
 
The developers hope to bring this ‘cheap and effective’ dietary intervention into mainstream foods, potentially offering a new tool in addressing the ongoing obesity crisis, and particularly accessible to communities where cost and access to healthy food help drive the uneven burden of obesity in populations.
 
Professor Morrison said: “We know that there is a lot of commercial interest currently in how to engineer optimum nutrient delivery to the gut, to lead to the best possible outcomes for consumers, and we hope to capitalise on that interest.”
 
Professor Frost added: “IPE’s inclusion in the Novel Foods List gives people who are beginning to struggle with their weight a new way of preventing further weight gain. We look forward to seeing how it will be incorporated into different foods and eating plans.”
 
The work was also supported by the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, a translational research partnership between Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London.

First published: 2 July 2026