Hops extract reduces appetite and food cravings in recent study

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A recent study¹ found that a bitter hop extract (Amarasate) acts as a GLP-1 activator, reducing appetite and food cravings. Amarasate is the active ingredient in the supplement Calocurb. In the study, 30 adult women fasted for 24 hours on three occasions and given an ad libitum meal to break each fast. As a treatment, participants were given either placebo or two doses of the bitter hop extract (a high dose: 250 mg or low dose: 125 mg). Results showed that both the high and low dose treatment groups experienced significant reductions in appetite and food cravings compared to control.

The researchers note that because of the participants’ fasting, baseline values of hunger were already elevated. So, while appetite suppression was observed, the participants would still be considered hungry. That is to say, the supplement did not remove hunger, just blunted an increase in hunger. Based on previous research, the suppression of hunger from the extract may be related to the inhibition of pro-appetite ghrelin action by stimulating the increase of enteroendocrine cell hormones, which is a potent inhibitor of ghrelin action.

According to the company’s press release, this latest study is the third to validate the ingredient’s benefits, and a fourth is currently underway in 150 men and women. That study will cost $2 million, with results expected in the first half of 2025. The research is supported by funding from the New Zealand government, which has devoted $30 million to the development of a “gut-targeted plant-based nutraceutical for appetite control with Plant and Food Research, a government-owned Crown Research Institute.” They hypothesized that “bitter taste receptors would be found in the gut, due to historical evidence that bitterness modulates appetite.”

Over 1,000 potential candidates were tested, eventually leading to hops, which became the trademarked Amarasate.

Reference

1. Walker, E.; Lo, K.; Gopal, P. Gastrointestinal delivery of bitter hop extract reduces appetite and food cravings in healthy adult women undergoing acute fasting. Obesity Pillars. 2024 11. DOI: 10.1016/j.obpill.2024.100117