Ghrelin response to carbohydrate-enriched breakfast is related to insulin

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition 2005-02, Vol.81 (2), p.367-375
• Main Authors: Blom, W.A.M, Stafleu, A, Graaf, C. de, Kok, F.J, Schaafsma, G, Hendriks, H.F.J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; appetite; Appetite - drug effects; Appetite - physiology; Area Under Curve; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Glucose - metabolism; breakfast; Breakfast foods; Carbohydrates; Carbohydrates - chemistry; circulating ghrelin; Cross-Over Studies; dietary carbohydrate; Dietary Carbohydrates - administration & dosage; Dietary Carbohydrates - metabolism; Dietary Carbohydrates - pharmacokinetics; Dietary Fats - administration & dosage; Dietary Fats - pharmacology; Dietary Fiber - administration & dosage; Dietary Fiber - metabolism; Double-Blind Method; energy-intake; Feeding. Feeding behavior; food intake; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Ghrelin; Glucose; growth-hormone secretagogue; high-fat; Humans; hunger; Insulin; Insulin - blood; leptin; Leptin - blood; leptin action; Male; Men; messenger-rna; Middle Aged; Nutrition; obese humans; Peptide Hormones - blood; plasma ghrelin; Postprandial Period; postprandial state; satiety; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; water
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207

Background: Ghrelin plays an important role in the regulation of food intake. Little is known about how ghrelin concentrations are modified by dietary factors. Objective: We examined the effects of both amount and type of carbohydrate on ghrelin concentrations and all correlations among the variables ghrelin, glucose, insulin, leptin, and all 4 subjective measures of appetite. Design: Twenty healthy nonobese men were studied in a double-blind, randomized, crossover design. Subjective measures of appetite and concentrations of ghrelin, glucose, insulin, and leptin were frequently assessed for 4 h after liquid breakfast meals differing in energy content and carbohydrate structure-ie, water, low-calorie (LC) meal, high-calorie simple carbohydrate (HC-SC) meal, and high-calorie complex carbohydrate (HC-CC) meal. Results: Ghrelin concentrations decreased after the HC-SC breakfast by 41%, after the HC-CC breakfast by 33%, and after the LC breakfast by 24%. No significant differences in ghrelin concentration among the 3 breakfasts were observed until 120 min. Ghrelin concentrations were correlated with subjective measures of hunger (r = 0.51) and fullness (r = -0.44). The percentage decrease in ghrelin between 0 and 30 min was inversely correlated with the percentage increases in insulin (r = -0.76) and glucose (r = -0.79) but not with changes in leptin (r = 0.10). The percentage changes in ghrelin concentrations between 30 and 180 min were correlated with the percentage changes in insulin (r = -0.53) and leptin (r = -0.47) but not with changes in glucose (r = 0.22). Conclusion: The results support the hypothesis that ghrelin requires postgastric feedback, which may be regulated through insulin.