Anti-Obesity Gum on The ‘Weigh’?

Reuters is reporting on an anti-obesity drug/hormone, Pancreatic Polypeptide (PP) that could be used in chewing gum form. The drug, in its very early stages, has recently been awarded a very large grant. Here’s more from the article:

An experimental anti-obesity drug which could one day be given as a chewing gum is among three projects to win funding under a new scheme from the Wellcome Trust.
The world’s second-largest medical research charity, Wellcome said on Monday it had awarded a research grant to Imperial College London for the work under its 91 million pounds ($176 million) Seeding Drug Discovery scheme — the largest fund of its kind outside the United States.

Pancreatic polypeptide has been shown to decrease appetite in humans. Here’s the abstract from a 2003 study [PDF] by Batterham et al. at Imperial College London:

Pancreatic polypeptide (PP) is a gut hormone released from the pancreas in response to ingestion of food. …we investigated the effect of intravenous infusion of PP (10 pmol/kg/min) on appetite and food intake in a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study in ten healthy volunteers. Infusion of PP reduced appetite and decreased the energy intake at a buffet lunch two hours post-infusion by 21.8 +/- 5.7% (P < 0.01). More importantly the inhibition of food intake was sustained, such that energy intake, as assessed by food diaries, was significantly reduced both the evening of the study and the following morning. Overall PP infusion reduced cumulative 24-hour energy intake by 25.3 +/- 5.8%. In conclusion our data demonstrates that PP causes a sustained decrease in both appetite and food intake.

A buffet lunch would really hit the spot right now.
When this gum comes out, it’s going to need a tag line. We challenge you to come up with some! Here’s our entry:

SlimGum-X: “Chew a round, shed a pound!”

Gum flashbacks: Probiotic Gum, Gum Benefits to be Studied, Bacteria Fighting Chewing Gum For Soldiers, Chewing Gum Speeds Recovery After Laparoscopic Surgery
Read the Reuters article here…