An estimated 39 million Americans already use weight-loss drugs to treat obesity.
A new pill form of Wegovy – the blockbuster injectable weight-loss drug – landed in US pharmacies in January in what has since been hailed as a game-changing moment for obesity treatment.
Uptake has been huge, with prescriptions for the drug surpassing the three million mark by early June.
Yet for some, the results can be underwhelming, and others are reluctant to rely on medication at all.
Now, experts say a little-known ingredient – amarasate – could offer an alternative, naturally stimulating appetite-suppressing hormones and helping promote weight loss.
Studies suggest people who take amarasate, which is rich in bitter compounds, experience less food noise, eat smaller portions and feel fuller for longer.
Amarasate is derived from hops, the plant best known for giving beer its distinctive bitter taste. Researchers believe those same naturally occurring compounds may unlock the body’s ability to curb appetite.
‘The bitterness is key,’ said Dr Madusha Peiris, a neurogastroenterologist at Queen Mary University of London.
A sac of hops – a plant cultivated in New Zealand that contains bitter acids which can activate taste receptors in our gut. Amarasate comes from this plant
‘Most people think taste happens only in the mouth, but the gut is also packed with specialized sensors that can detect compounds in the food we eat.
‘When these sensors are activated, they trigger the release of hormones that influence hunger and fullness, helping to tell the brain when we’ve had enough to eat.
‘The bitter compounds found in hops appear to be particularly effective at activating some of these pathways, including those linked to hormones such as GLP-1. These compounds are largely missing from modern diets, which is one reason researchers are so interested in them.’
So what is amarasate – and how does it work?
First, it is important to understand how the body naturally regulates appetite.
While many nutrients are absorbed higher up in the digestive tract, others – particularly fiber – resist digestion until they reach the colon. This is significant because many of the cells responsible for producing appetite-suppressing hormones are concentrated in the lower gut.
‘The more nutrients that reach the lower gut, the more likely you are to feel full for longer,’ Peiris said.
‘What seems to be a big problem for lots of people, especially those struggling to maintain a healthy weight, is food noise – repetitive thoughts about food that can drive snacking and overeating. That often stems from not producing enough of these appetite-suppressing hormones.’
This is where the bitter compounds in amarasate – sold under the brand name Calocurb – come in.
Amarasate is the active ingredient in Calocurb
The supplement, which costs around $1 per capsule, is designed to deliver its bitter compounds much further down the digestive tract, near the colon, rather than releasing them in the stomach.
There, the compounds effectively trick the gut into thinking an intensely bitter food has arrived, activating receptors that trigger the release of satiety hormones, including GLP-1, peptide YY (PYY) and cholecystokinin (CCK).
These are the same hormones released after eating a diverse, fiber-rich meal. But, as Peiris explains, modern diets often fail to stimulate this response.
‘Highly processed foods, which tend to contain a lot of added sugars and require very little chewing, don’t activate these fullness signals as effectively,’ she said. ‘As a result, we start releasing satiety hormones much later.
‘Digestion then happens relatively quickly, with food broken down and absorbed before it can reach many of these key receptors further down the digestive tract.’
Weight-loss drugs work on some of the same hormonal pathways, but in a much more potent way, flooding the body with synthetic GLP-1 at levels far above those produced naturally.
Research suggests amarasate may help stimulate the body’s own appetite-regulating systems. A 2022 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that it reduced the number of calories men consumed by almost 20 percent, while significantly increasing levels of key satiety hormones.
A more recent study involving women produced similar findings, with participants reporting up to a 40 percent reduction in food cravings.
Another trial, published in Nutrition Journal, followed 200 overweight adults and found those given a bitter hops extract daily had significantly less visceral fat after eight weeks than those receiving a placebo.
Visceral fat is considered particularly dangerous because it accumulates deep inside the abdomen, surrounding organs such as the liver and pancreas and increasing the risk of conditions including heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
After 12 weeks, participants taking the hops extract had lost around seven times more visceral fat than those in the placebo group, while also reducing their overall body fat percentage.
However, experts caution that the evidence remains limited and there is not yet enough research to suggest supplements such as amarasate could replace prescription weight loss drugs, particularly for patients with obesity-related conditions such as diabetes or sleep apnea.
Peiris said the findings nevertheless highlight the importance of naturally stimulating the gut’s appetite-control systems through diet.
‘As a gut scientist who studies nutrient-sensing mechanisms, it’s encouraging to see human studies showing changes in appetite and appetite-regulating hormones,’ she said.
‘But bitter, fiber-rich foods are likely to have a much greater impact because they stimulate these receptors while also nourishing the gut.
‘Humans fundamentally know the kinds of foods they should be eating, but in modern society it’s becoming increasingly difficult to eat a diverse range of fruits and vegetables.
‘It’s that combination of colorful, fiber-rich foods that really helps to support gut health and maximize the release of these satiety hormones.’
This comes amid growing interest in finding natural ways to activate the same biological pathways targeted by blockbuster weight loss drugs.
Earlier this year, experts told the Daily Mail that psyllium husk – a fiber supplement costing as little as 14 cents per capsule – could help ‘turbo-charge’ the effects of Wegovy and Mounjaro by increasing feelings of fullness, reducing cholesterol levels and potentially helping patients maintain their weight loss after coming off the drugs.
Researchers say both psyllium husk and amarasate appear to work, albeit in different ways.
However, experts stress that neither supplement is a replacement for medical treatment.
