Effect of Sumac on Appetite and Food Intake

The Effect of Consumption of Sumac in Vegetable Soup on Appetite and Food Intake Among Older Adults (Aged Over 65 Years) and Young Adults (Aged 18-35 Years)

Sumac, is a spice that is widely used in Turkish, Iranian and Middle Eastern foods. In these regions, the fruit of sumac is used for seasoning or flavouring, as an appetizer and for souring food. This spice has also been used in herbal folk medicine to relieve certain conditions including bowel disorders, anorexia and indigestion. In addition, many studies have shown that sumac contains a high level of antioxidant activity and polyphenol content that may benefit certain diseases such as cancer and diabetes. The aim of this study was to assess the level of the appetite and food intake among young adults in comparison with free living older adults following the consumption of sumac. This was achieved by assessing the amount of food intake during a lunch course and the impact on food intake for the subsequent 12 hours.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Food Intake; Appetite
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: sumac

Detailed Description

Rhus coriaria Linn, also known as Sumac, is a spice that is widely used in Turkish, Iranian and Middle Eastern foods. In these regions, the fruit of sumac is used for seasoning or flavouring, as an appetizer and for souring food. This spice has also been used in herbal folk medicine to relieve certain conditions including bowel disorders, anorexia and indigestion. In addition, many studies have shown that sumac contains a high level of antioxidant activity and polyphenol content that may benefit certain diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

Taste and smell perception may play a vital role in food preference, nutrient intake and appetite; however, both ageing and disease can have a negative impact on these senses. It has been suggested that by 2025 the older adult population (i.e. those aged 60years and over) worldwide will rapidly increase and reach 1.12 billion. One of the major physiological changes in this age group is the loss or reduction in sensory perception including smell and taste. These changes as a result of ageing and medication increase the risk of poor health by reducing the enjoyment of food followed by decreasing food and nutrient intake.

It is possible, therefore, that all these factors together may lessen the enjoyment of food, leading to malnutrition and disease complications. In light of the above, the aim of this study was to assess the level of the appetite and food intake among young adults in comparison with free living older adults following the consumption of sumac. This was achieved by assessing the amount of food intake during a lunch course and the impact on food intake for the subsequent 12 hours.

This study assessed the use of sumac at 1% dose (0.37g) of total volume of a vegetable soup (150g), in two forms: 1) added to finished cooked soup 2) added to the soup from the beginning of the cooking process, in addition to consumption of the same soup without added sumac as the control soup. The study comprised of 20 young adults (18-35 years old) and 20 free living older adults aged >65 years. Each participant in these groups attended the Oxford Brookes Centre for Nutrition and Health (OxBCNH) for three sessions and each session lasted up to one hour.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Oxford, United Kingdom, OX3 0BP
    • Oxford Brookes Centre for Nutrition and Health

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• • Adults, aged >65 years

  • Adults, 18-35 years
  • No allergy to any herbs and spices
  • No allergy to vegetables including celery and tomato
  • Non-smoker
  • Do not have a cold or hay fever (on test day)
  • No medication that may affect the sensory taste such as: antibiotics, antihistamines and decongestants, anti-inflammatory agents, and muscle relaxants (Bromley, 2000)
  • Ability to read and understand written information in English
  • Ability to attend, stand and sit for up to one hour
  • The normal level of capability of functional activity (i.e. traveling out to the neighbourhood, shopping alone)
  • Not diagnosed with Dementia

Exclusion Criteria:

• Disease that may affect the taste and smell sensation including local chronic or acute inflammatory nasal disease and oral and perioral infections

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Soup with no sumac; 150 g butternut squash soup with no added sumac	Other: sumac; 1% iranian brown sumac
Experimental: Sumac added to soup at the end of cooking; 150 g butternut squash soup with 1% sumac added at the end of cooking	Other: sumac; 1% iranian brown sumac
Experimental: Sumac added to the sumac during cooking; 150 g butternut squash soup with 1% sumac added during cooking	Other: sumac; 1% iranian brown sumac

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Energy intake in kilojoules and kilocalories	Energy intake at an ad libitum lunch after the soup and for the rest of the day using Nutritics dietary assessment software.	9 hours
Carbohydrate intake in grams	Carbohydrate intake at an ad libitum lunch after the soup and for the rest of the day using Nutritics dietary assessment software.	9 hours
Protein intake in grams	Protein intake at an ad libitum lunch after the soup and for the rest of the day using Nutritics dietary assessment software.	9 hours
Fat intake in grams	Fat intake at an ad libitum lunch after the soup and for the rest of the day using Nutritics dietary assessment software.	9 hours
Amount of food consumed at lunch in grams	Amount of food (pasta) consumed in grams at the ad libitum lunch	9 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Oxford Brookes University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sangeetha Thondre, PhD, Oxford Brookes University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 28, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): March 15, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 31, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 5, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): September 9, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 6, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 4, 2023
• Last Verified: September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: UREC 181174

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No