The effect of gum chewing on blood GLP-1 concentration in fasted, healthy, non-obese men

We evaluated the effect of chewing on blood GLP-1 concentration by having volunteers to chew sugarless gum. Our intention was to explore the neural mechanisms regulating the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1). After fasting for 12 h, 12 healthy male, non-obese volunteers (18 < BMI < 30), were asked to chew sugarless gum at a frequency of 80 times every 2 min for a total of 30 min. Blood samples were collected before the start of chewing and 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 min after the start of chewing. Satiety and hunger were evaluated on a scale from 0 to 100 at each time point. Compared with the control group, the test group’s satiety was increased at 15, 25, and 30 min (p = 0.043, p = 0.014 and p = 0.018, respectively) after they began chewing sugarless gum 80 times every 2 min. The blood GLP-1 level of the test group at 30 min was 49.6 ± 20.3 pmol/l, significantly higher than that of the control group (38.9 ± 20.9 pmol/l; p = 0.031). There was no significant difference in the test group’s GLP-1 concentration at each time point. In the control group, compared to baseline, the GLP-1 concentrations at 15, 25, and 30 min were significantly decreased (p = 0.042, p = 0.0214 and p = 0.012, respectively). No significant differences in the blood concentration of glucose, insulin and GIP or hunger were observed between groups. Our study suggests that fasting sugarless gum chewing can increase satiety and reduce the decrease in GLP-1 concentration.