The Effect of a Plant-based, Protein-dense Sauce on Essential Amino Acid Concentrations and Gut Fullness in Older Adults (ProSauce)

University of Exeter

Status

Enrolling

Conditions

Protein Malnutrition

Malnutrition Elderly

Treatments

Dietary Supplement: low-protein sauce

Dietary Supplement: ProSauce

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT06965699

ProSauce Uo

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine whether meals fortified with plant-based high protein sauce (ProSauce) provide better metabolic availability of essential amino acids compared to meals with standard lower-protein sauce without resulting in excessive gut fullness and satiety. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does meals with high-protein sauce deliver better metabolic availability of amino acid profile? Does this high-protein sauce also not lead to excessive appetite suppression due to its liquid form? Researchers will compare high protein sauce to a commercially available standard low protein sauce.

Participants will consume two meals, either protein-fortified or standard low-protein sauce, in a randomised order with at least a one-week washout period between each meal. The investigators will collect venous blood samples over a 6-hour postprandial period to measure plasma essential (and non-essential) amino acid and insulin concentrations. The investigators will also measure appetite-related hormones from venous plasma and assess subjective appetite using a visual analogue scale, taken in parallel with the blood sample time points.

Enrollment

20 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

60+ years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Aged 60 and over
Living independently in the community
Capacity to provide informed consent
Non-smoking (vaping is considered smoking)
No known medical conditions that might influence the study outcomes, e.g., heart disease, diabetes mellitus, obesity, disthyroidism and other endocrinopathies and renal failure
Not taking any medications that might influence the study outcomes e.g., taking anabolic steroids or corticosteroids long term
No clinically diagnosed eating disorders
No severe dislike or allergy to any of the study food
No hospitalisations in the last 6 months
Not dieting and weight stable for 3 months before the study (< 3 kg change in weight)