The effect of Korean pine nut oil on in vitro CCK release, on appetite sensations and on gut hormones in post-menopausal overweight women

Appetite suppressants may be one strategy in the fight against obesity. This study evaluated whether Korean pine nut free fatty acids (FFA) and triglycerides (TG) work as an appetite suppressant. Korean pine nut FFA were evaluated in STC-1 cell culture for their ability to increase cholecystokinin (CCK-8) secretion vs. several other dietary fatty acids from Italian stone pine nut fatty acids, oleic acid, linoleic acid, alpha-linolenic acid, and capric acid used as a control. At 50 μM concentration, Korean pine nut FFA produced the greatest amount of CCK-8 release (493 pg/ml) relative to the other fatty acids and control (46 pg/ml). A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind cross-over trial including 18 overweight post-menopausal women was performed. Subjects received capsules with 3 g Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) nut FFA, 3 g pine nut TG or 3 g placebo (olive oil) in combination with a light breakfast. At 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 minutes the gut hormones cholecystokinin (CCK-8), glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1), peptide YY (PYY) and ghrelin, and appetite sensations were measured. A wash-out period of one week separated each intervention day. CCK-8 was higher 30 min after pine nut FFA and 60 min after pine nut TG when compared to placebo (p < 0.01). GLP-1 was higher 60 min after pine nut FFA compared to placebo (p < 0.01). Over a period of 4 hours the total amount of plasma CCK-8 was 60% higher after pine nut FFA and 22% higher after pine nut TG than after placebo (p < 0.01). For GLP-1 this difference was 25% after pine nut FFA (P < 0.05). Ghrelin and PYY levels were not different between groups. The appetite sensation "prospective food intake" was 36% lower after pine nut FFA relative to placebo (P < 0.05). This study suggests that Korean pine nut may work as an appetite suppressant through an increasing effect on satiety hormones and a reduced prospective food intake.