d-allulose is a rare sugar with zero energy that can be consumed by obese/overweight individuals. Many studies have suggested that zero-calorie d-allulose has beneficial effects on obesity-related metabolism in mouse models, but only a few studies have been performed on human subjects. Therefore, we performed a preliminary study with 121 Korean subjects (aged 20–40 years, body mass index ≥ 23 kg/m2). A randomized controlled trial involving placebo control (sucralose, 0.012 g × 2 times/day), low d-allulose (d-allulose, 4 g × 2 times/day), and high d-allulose (d-allulose, 7 g × 2 times/day) groups was designed. Parameters for body composition, nutrient intake, computed tomography (CT) scan, and plasma lipid profiles were assessed. Body fat percentage and body fat mass were significantly decreased following d-allulose supplementation. The high d-allulose group revealed a significant decrease in not only body mass index (BMI), but also total abdominal and subcutaneous fat areas measured by CT scans compared to the placebo group. There were no significant differences in nutrient intake, plasma lipid profiles, markers of liver and kidney function, and major inflammation markers among groups. These results provide useful information on the dose-dependent effect of d-allulose for overweight/obese adult humans. Based on these results, the efficacy of d-allulose for body fat reduction needs to be validated using dual energy X-ray absorption.
Obesity is a continuous chronic metabolic disorder and has adverse effects on health, such as dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance. This study evaluated whether Rumex japonicus Houtt. ethanol extract (RU) and its active component nepodin (NE) affect obesity and its related complications, such as dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed obese mice. The NE and RU supplements did not produce significant differences in body weight and adipose tissue weight compared to HFD group, while plasma lipid profiles were only improved by the RU supplement. However, both the NE and RU supplement had beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance through reduction of plasma free fatty acid (FFA) (p < 0.05), insulin (p < 0.05), homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (p < 0.05), and C-peptide (p < 0.05) levels. In particular, the RU supplement decreased the area under the curve (AUC) of intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) (p < 0.05), and improved glucose intolerance. Taken together, NE and RU supplements can contribute to improvements in HFD-induced hyperglycemia, while dyslipidemia was only improved by the RU supplement.
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