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Abstract
Plant-polyphenols have shown the capacity to ameliorate obesity-induced metabolic disturbances, both in cell and animal models, where most therapeutic approaches have failed. On the basis of previous research, a dietary supplement containing 500 mg of a combination of polyphenolic extracts from Lippia citriodora L. and Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (LC-HS), in the context of an equilibrated isocaloric diet, was evaluated in a double blind, placebo-controlled and randomized trial in 56 obese/overweight subjects for two months. Compared to controls, the consumption of the LC-HS polyphenols showed significant improvements in body weight, abdominal circumference of overweight subjects (−6.79 ± 0.80 cm in overweight LC-HS group vs −1.85 ± 0.83 cm in controls, p < 0.001) and body fat % (−1.33 ± 0.15% in overweight LC-HS group vs −0.66 ± 0.17% in controls, p < 0.05). Heart rate and systolic blood pressure also presented significant improvements in overweight LC-HS participants. However, changes were more modest in obese subjects. Further, LC-HS extract significantly reduced lipid content and increased AMPK activity in a hypertrophied adipocyte cell model. Therefore, consumption of 500 mg/day of LC-HS extracts enriched in polyphenols for two months in the context of an isocaloric diet by overweight subjects decreased symptoms associated to obesity-related diseases. Modulation of fat metabolism in adipose tissue, probably mediated by AMPK activation, is proposed as a molecular target to be explored in future research.
Highlights
The results showed an overall improvement in the anthropometric parameters determined in the groups taking Lippia citriodora (LC)-Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) compared to control after two months, in body weight, abdominal circumference and percentage of body fat
Obesity is defined as a condition of excessive accumulation of fat in adipose tissue that carries a health risk and predisposes to insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidemia
We recently reported the capacities of LC polyphenolic extract and its major compound verbascoside to ameliorate high glucose-induced metabolic disturbances
Summary
Our previous research has accumulated enough evidence and has identified several herbal extracts with the capacity to alleviate metabolic stress and to modulate different molecular and cellular targets in cell culture and animal models[9,10,11,12] These extracts include Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS), Lippia citriodora (LC), Olea europaea leaf and extra virgin olive oil extracts[13]. The results on lipid and glucose metabolism obtained in the hyperlipidemic mice revealed the possibility that HS and LC reach similar as well as complementary targets[10,16] These findings prompted us to explore the effects of a combination of HS and LC in obese mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). A randomized controlled trial performed in overweight subjects has demonstrated that the combination of HS and LC can modulate appetite-related peptides, as well as reduced blood pressure when compared to placebo, helping probably to a better management of body weight in the context of an equilibrated isocaloric diet[18]
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