Wakame, a brown seaweed commonly consumed in Japan, is used in traditional Japanese miso soups and salads. Brown seaweed contains fucoxanthin, a brownish pigment and antioxidant. Now research reports that fucoxanthin extracted from brown seaweed burned fat in obese mice and promoted weight loss. The researchers hope to develop a fucoxanthin supplement from brown seaweed as an anti-obesity pill for consumers.
The study, presented at the September 10-14, 2006 American Chemical Society's 232nd National Meeting & Exposition in San Francisco, investigated the effects of fucoxanthin extract on weight loss in mice and rats. Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan, isolated fucoxanthin from Undaria pinnatifida (wakame kelp). They added the fucoxanthin extract to the rodents' feed. Food intake, body fat, and body weight measurements were obtained from the rats.
Researchers found that obese rodents who were given fucoxanthin had a 5 to 10 percent decrease in body weight. Fucoxanthin specifically targeted abdominal fat by increasing UCP1 protein (causes fat burning) found in white abdominal fat. Furthermore, fucoxanthin stimulated production of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in the liver. DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, is found in fatty fish and has been found to lower 'bad' cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.
"I hope that our study [points to a way to] help reduce obesity in the U.S. and elsewhere," says study leader Kazuo Miyashita, Ph.D., a chemistry professor at Hokkaido University, in a news release. The researchers have planned future human studies with fucoxanthin.
REFERENCES:
1. Brown seaweed contains promising fat fighter, weight reducer. American Chemical Society News Release, Eurekalert.org, September 11, 2006:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-09/acs-bsc082806.php#
Posted by Elaine Gavalas on November 15, 2006 12:49 PM
