The effect of yellow pea protein and fibre on short-term food intake, subjective appetite and glycaemic response in healthy young men

Christopher E Smith 1, Rebecca C Mollard, Bohdan L Luhovyy, G Harvey Anderson

Abstract

Pulses are low-glycaemic foods rich in protein (20-25 %), resistant starch and fibre that suppress appetite and glycaemia. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the component(s) of yellow peas responsible for these benefits and assess their efficacy as value-added food ingredients. We investigated the effects of 10 or 20 g of isolated yellow pea protein (P10 and P20) or fibre (F10 and F20) on food intake (FI) at an ad libitum pizza meal served at 30 min (Expt 1, n 19) or 120 min (Expt 2, n 20) and blood glucose (BG) and appetite in young, healthy males (20-30 years). In Expt 1, P20 led to lower FI than control (4937 (sem 502) v. 5632 (sem 464) kJ (1180 (sem 120) v. 1346 (sem 111) kcal)) and all other treatments (P < 0·01) and lower cumulative FI (pizza meal kcal+treatment kcal; CFI) compared to F10 (5460 (sem 498) v. 6084 (sem 452) kJ (1305 (sem 119) v. 1454 (sem 108) kcal); P = 0·033). Both protein treatments suppressed mean pre-meal (0-30 min) BG compared to control (P < 0·05), whereas only P20 suppressed mean post-meal (50-120 min) BG (P < 0·01). There was no effect of treatment on pre-meal or post-meal appetite. In Expt 2, there was no effect of treatment on FI, CFI, or pre- or post-meal BG or appetite. In conclusion, protein is the component responsible for the short-term effects of yellow peas in the regulation of glycaemia and FI, but its second-meal effects disappear by 2 h post-consumption.