If you're having trouble shaking your cravings for doughnuts, hamburgers and pizza, the key to curbing them could come from a new supplement based on a compound released by gut bacteria. The appetite-suppressing supplement developed by scientists from England and Scotland is called inulin-propionate ester and was found to only affect cravings for high calorie foods.

As its name suggests, the inulin-propionate ester supplement developed by the researchers from the Imperial College in London and the University of Glasgow in Scotland is made from a type of fiber called inulin that contains propionate, a molecular compound released in the intestines by gut microbiota that sends signals to a person's brain to make them feel full.

The digestion of inulin on its own has previously been shown to trigger the release of appetite-suppressing propionate by bacteria in the gut, but the team discovered that eating inulin-propionate ester resulted in the release of much more propionate in the intestines than inulin alone, and therefore had a much greater effect on appetite and weight gain. The team's latest study has now shed light on the reasons for this.