The potential of immature poken (Citrus reticulata) extract in the weight management, lipid and glucose metabolism

Yung-Kai Lin; Yu-Ming Chung; Hui-Ting Yang; Yung-Hao Lin; Yung-Hsiang Lin; Wei-Chun Hu; Chi-Fu Chiang

doi:10.1515/jcim-2020-0478

Article

The potential of immature poken (Citrus reticulata) extract in the weight management, lipid and glucose metabolism

Yung-Kai Lin , Yu-Ming Chung , Hui-Ting Yang , Yung-Hao Lin , Yung-Hsiang Lin , Wei-Chun Hu and Chi-Fu Chiang

Published/Copyright: May 10, 2021

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From the journal Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Volume 19 Issue 2

Abstract

Objectives

The prevalence of obesity was increasing globally, with nearly half a billion of the world’s population now considered to be overweight or obese. The immature poken (Citrus reticulata) was a good source of flavonoids and phenolic acids, which may exert an anti-obesity effect. However, the current efficacy in clinical trials was still unclear. Thus, the object of this study was to explore whether immature poken had an anti-obesity effect in the clinical trial.

Methods

In this study, we identified nine major compounds from immature poken extract (IPE), and most compounds significantly decreased the lipid accumulation in adipocytes. In addition, 20 subjects with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 24 or body fat > 30 were recruited and randomly allocated to placebo and experimental (IPE) groups for 6 week intervention and 2 week follow-up.

Results

In comparison with the baseline results (week 0), the body weight, body fat, and waist circumference at week 6 in the IPE group were significantly decreased by 1.49 kg, 0.33%, 2.1 cm. Moreover, in blood biochemical analysis, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), fasting blood sugar (FBS), and insulin levels at week 6 in IPE group were also decreased by 3.6, 4.6, 2.1 (mg/dL), and 2.9 (μU/mL), respectively.

Conclusions

The finding showed that immature poken had important roles in fat metabolism by suppressing adipogenesis, and immature poken may provide new weight loss strategies for obese people.

Keywords: anti-obesity; blood glucose; Citrus reticulate ; fat; immature poken; weight loss

Corresponding author: Chi-Fu Chiang, Research & Design Center, TCI CO., Ltd., 10F, No.187, Gangqian Rd., Neihu Dist., Taipei 114, Taiwan, Phone: +886 2 8797 7811 ext. 8827, E-mail: Jimmy.Chiang@tci-bio.com

Research funding: None declared.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Informed consent: Not applicable.
Ethical approval: Not applicable.

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Received: 2020-11-12

Accepted: 2021-03-23

Published Online: 2021-05-10

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/jcim-2020-0478

Keywords for this article

anti-obesity; blood glucose; Citrus reticulate; fat; immature poken; weight loss