Obesity in humans leads to changes in the composition of gut microbiota, some of those
changes being reversed upon dieting and changes in dietary habits. The studies devoted to
understand how gut microbes control host energy homeostasis are of interest, in order to
estimate how specific nutrients that induce changes in gut microbiota composition and/or
activity–such as prebiotics–could be relevant in the management of obesity and related
disorders. This review presents the potential molecular mechanisms allowing the gut�…

Background We have previously shown that gut microbial fermentation of prebiotics
promotes satiety and lowers hunger and energy intake in humans. In rodents, these effects
are associated with an increase in plasma gut peptide concentrations, which are involved in
appetite regulation and glucose homeostasis. Objective Our aim was to examine the effects
of prebiotic supplementation on satiety and related hormones during a test meal for human
volunteers by using a noninvasive micromethod for blood sampling to measure plasma gut�…