Objective: We tested the hypothesis that pectin, a source of dietary fiber that delays gastric emptying, increases satiety.
Methods: Male (n = 49) and female (n = 25) US Army employees within normal weight limits were fasted overnight then fed 448 mL of orange juice on 2 separate days followed 4 hours later by 0.473 L of ice cream. On 1 of the 2 days, 5, 10, 15 or 20 g of pectin was mixed with the orange juice. Satiety was measured on a visual analog scale before and at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours after orange juice and at 0, 30 and 60 minutes after ice cream. Multivariate ANOVA was used to examine satiety as a function of beverage (orange juice vs. orange juice plus pectin), time and pectin dose.
Results: There were significant differences in satiety as a function of beverage (p < 0.001) and time (p < 0.001) but not pectin dose (p = 0.121). The effect lasted up to 4 hours after ingesting pectin and orange juice and for 60 minutes after a second meal consisting of ice cream.
Conclusions: Pectin in doses as small as 5 g mixed with orange juice increases satiety and can aid in a program to reduce weight by limiting food intake.