Efficacy and Safety of Combined Extracts of Cornus officinalis and Ribes fasciculatum for Body Fat Reduction in Overweight Women

Abstract

Obesity is a medical condition that presents excessive fat accumulation with high risk of serious chronic diseases. The aim of this clinical trial is to investigate the anti-obesity effects of Cornus officinalis (CO) and Ribes fasciculatum (RF) on body fat reduction in Korean overweight women. A total of 147 overweight female participants enrolled in double-blinded clinical trial for 12 weeks and 76 participants completed the clinical study. Participants were treated with four CO and RF mixture (COEC; 400 mg per tablet) or four placebo tablets once a day. Obesity associated parameters (body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage and body fat mass) and safety assessment were analyzed. After 12 weeks of COEC treatment, primary outcomes such as body fat percentage (0.76% vs. 0.01%; p = 0.022) and mass (1.1 kg vs. 0.5 kg; p = 0.049) were significantly decreased. In addition, the results were statistically significant between the COEC and placebo groups, strongly indicated that COEC had anti-obesity effects on overweight women. Secondary outcomes—including body weight, waist and hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index and computed tomography measurement of visceral fat area, subcutaneous fat area, total abdominal fat area and visceral-to-subcutaneous fat ratio—were reduced in COEC-treated group, but no statistical differences were found between the COEC and placebo groups. The safety assessment did not differ between the two groups. These results suggest that treatment of COEC extract reduces body fat percentage and mass in Korean overweight women, indicating it as a protective functional agent for obesity.

Anti-Obesity Effects of Combined Cornus officinalis and Ribes fasciculatum Extract in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Male Mice

“…In humans, many studies have demonstrated that gender differences are observed in energy consumption, requirements for fat distribution, and metabolism [ 25 ]. Previous studies revealed that CR administration attenuated obesity development in OVX mice [ 18 ], HFD-induced female mice [ 19 ], and women [ 20 ]. Despite the higher prevalence of obesity in women than in men, this study selected HFD-induced obese male mice as an obese animal model as there is a paucity of information on CR effectiveness in males.…”

“…Similarly, several reports have suggested that RF extract exhibits antiaging effects in Caenorhabditis elegans dependent on the insulin/IGF signaling pathway [ 16 ] and prevents allergic inflammation in LPS-stimulated macrophage cells [ 17 ]. In addition, previous studies have demonstrated that the combination of CO and RF (CR) extract improves estrogenic activity and anti-osteoporotic effects [ 18 ], has along with anti-obesity effects in female mice [ 19 ] and women [ 20 ].…”

Active Components and Pharmacological Effects of Cornus officinalis: Literature Review

“…Clinical trials are clearly needed to assess which of the reported pharmacological activities have confirmed efficacy and practical application in humans. (Park et al, 2020e) conducted a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial in Korea and 76 obese female participants were enrolled. The results showed that 12 weeks of administration of the mixture of C. officinalis and Ribes fasciculatum could significantly decrease the body fat of the participants.…”

The p53-Driven Anticancer Effect of Ribes fasciculatum Extract on AGS Gastric Cancer Cells

“…Ribes fasciculatum is a plant that grows in East Asia and has been used as a medicinal plant to treat allergies in Korea. According to recent studies, Ribes fasciculatum is known to have anti-obesity, antioxidant, anti-aging, and allergy-relief effects; further, the anti-allergic effect is known to be closely related to cancer cell apoptosis [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. Therefore, we suggest that Ribes fasciculatum has high anticancer bioactivity potential.…”