Tocotrienols against obesity
Vitamin E effectively fights obesity even against the background of a fatty diet
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
Even against the background of a fatty diet, laboratory animals managed to lose weight and cope with the so-called bad cholesterol. Now scientists are considering this strategy for the treatment of obesity and the prevention of related diseases in humans.
Developing a new strategy for the treatment of obesity, Japanese scientists from The Sibaur Institute of Technology relied on the assumption that obesity increases oxidative stress in the body, according to a press release of New Study on Mice Sheds Light on the Anti-Obesity Effects of Vitamin E. To this end, they isolated tocotrienols compounds from the well-known antioxidant vitamin E and tested them on mouse models.
One group of laboratory animals was fed a fatty diet, and the other was additionally given tocotrienols. After 13 weeks of the experiment, the scientists noted that against the background of taking tocotrienols, mice do not gain so much excess weight. Further observations showed that these compounds reduce the accumulation of fat in the kidney area and protect the liver from damage. In addition, the level of low-density lipoproteins (bad cholesterol) decreased and the level of high-density lipoproteins (good cholesterol) did not change.
From previous studies, scientists knew that obesity can contribute to cognitive decline. Meanwhile, testing this hypothesis in two groups of experimental animals, they found no significant differences in behavioral tests. Only the level of activity of animals differed (without tocotrienols, mice moved less) and this behavior is believed to be associated with increased levels of anxiety and depression. Therefore, it is not yet clear how overweight can provoke neurodegeneration.
Article by Kato et al. Tocotrienols Attenuate White Adipose Tissue Accumulation and Improve Serum Cholesterol Concentration in High-Fat Diet-Treated Mice is published in the journal Molecules.
"Although some of the effects of tocotrienols still remain a mystery, our work opens up new possibilities for creating drugs to combat obesity," concluded study author Koji Fukui. According to WHO estimates, about 2 billion people in the world are overweight, so new strategies for preventing obesity are in great demand. Obesity is considered a key risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
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