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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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14.12.2010 |
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Cirsium oligophyllum extract enhances slimming effect of caffeine
Cirsium oligophyllum is already on the market. Unclear amounts of an extract of the leaves of this Japanese thistle are contained in OxyElitePro, a slimming supplement from USP Labs. The most important component in this product seems to be methylhexanamine.
We've not been able to find much about Cirsium oligophyllum in the literature, and the Japanese study leaves us none the wiser either. The research describes it as "a commercially available crude drug with lipolysis-promoting activity" and says nothing more about it.
When the researchers did tests with subcutaneous fat cells, they saw that the beta-blocker propranolol completely blocks the anti-obesity effect of Cirsium oligophyllum. The figure below shows the cells' emission of glycerol, a marker of the amount of fatty acids the fat cells release into the blood.
Propranolol sabotages the beta-adrenergic receptors, thus inhibiting the effect of adrenalin. When the researchers added caffeine to the cells, the anti-obesity effect of Cirsium oligophyllum increased.
The researchers also rubbed a solution into the rats' skin, and observed that they lost subcutaneous fat in this way too. "Further studies are necessary to confirm the action mechanism of this material, involving alteration of the energy balance, and to evaluate its possible application to health promotion and esthetics", they write.
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