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20.03.2017

Small amount of beta-cryptoxanthin reduces fat percentage

Daily supplementation with several mgs of beta-cryptoxanthin can help reduce the percentage of fat in the body, according to a number of older Japanese animal and human studies.

Beta-cryptoxanthin
Beta-cryptoxanthin is closely related to beta-carotene, and like beta-carotene converts into vitamin A. Because vitamin A is toxic in large quantities, and for instance increases the chance of cancer in smokers, it's better not to consume too large doses of beta-carotene or beta-cryptoxanthin.

The Mayo Clinic recommends a maximum daily dose of 6-15 mg beta-carotene on its website. That's probably an acceptable dose for beta-cryptoxanthin too.

Study
The Japanese, who worked in the R&D department of the raw ingredients manufacturer Unitika [unitika.co.jp], did an experiment with two groups of Tsumura Suzuki mice. Both groups of mice were morbidly obese. The mice in one group had diabetes [TSOD], the mice in the other didn't [TSNO].

The researchers divided both groups of the lab animals into two subgroups. One of these got beta-cryptoxanthin in their food and the other did not. The human equivalent of the dose used would be about 5-10 mg beta-cryptoxanthin per day.

This is not an extreme dose. It's possible to obtain milligram quantities of beta-cryptoxanthin through regular foods. The table below is one we found on the web. [endmemo.com]

Results
Beta-cryptoxanthin supplementation improved the mice's body composition. The effect was not significant in the non-diabetic mice [TSNO-E; TSNO-C = control group], but it was significant in the diabetic mice [TSOD-E; TSOD-C = control group].

How beta-cryptoxanthin might reduce fat reserves is shown in the table above. It shows the effect of supplementation on the synthesis of the protein PPAR-alpha. PPAR-alpha is a fat sensor. This upregulation in the muscle cells suggests that they start to burn more fat; upregulation in fat cells may mean that there is a decrease in their release of insulin-inhibiting inflammatory proteins.

Conclusion
The researchers suspect that humans react to beta-cryptoxanthin in approximately the same way as mice do. In 2008 the Japanese researchers published a study in which obese men lost abdominal fat when given beta-cryptoxanthin. [Jpn. Pharmacol. Ther. 36, 247-53]. We were unable to trace this study; we've only found an abstract.

Source:
Front Neurol. 2011 Nov 23;2:67.

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