Tarragon supplements may make healthy women gain weight, study suggests
08 Oct 2018 --- The benefits of Russian tarragon and bitter melon supplements may be sex-dependent, according to a study that identified that Russian tarragon supplements may lead healthy women to gain weight. The study's findings are important because women who are normal weight and generally in good health account for a large portion of the population that takes dietary supplements, according to the researchers. “Our studies in mice have always used male mice that are obese and insulin-resistant as a result of eating a high-fat diet,” says Elizabeth Floyd, Ph.D., Co-Director of LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center's Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center. “In this study, we looked at female mice on the same high-fat diet and asked if an extract from Russian tarragon or bitter melon had the same positive metabolic effects in females as we've always seen in the male mice.” The study, published in the journal Biology of Sex Differences, found that female mice on a high-fat diet given supplements of Artemisia dracunculus L. (Russian tarragon) gained more weight and body fat than the mice that just ate a high-fat diet. However, the female mice did not become overweight or obese. Early indications show the female mice did not benefit as much as the males from the two extracts. “Unlike the males, the females didn't have improved insulin sensitivity and the data suggests that the females' livers responded to the botanical extracts by producing more glucose, or blood sugar,” says Dr. Floyd. Although the female mice's livers produced more blood sugar, both Russian tarragon and bitter melon lowered the fat content in the mice's livers. Fat accumulation in the liver is associated with insulin resistance and poses a serious health concern when coupled with obesity. The researchers point out that there are some limitations to the study findings. The female mice did not become obese on the high-fat diet, Dr. Floyd said. That may be due to the females' much higher activity levels compared with male mice fed the same diet. “Because the females remained normal weight, it may be that the benefits of the botanical extracts are only observed with obesity,” Dr. Floyd says. “We're conducting studies to answer this question. But the results could also point to important sex-dependent differences in how men and women respond to dietary supplements, particularly if the women are not overweight or obese.” To contact our editorial team please email us at editorial@cnsmedia.com
Related ArticlesHealth & Nutrition News A green diet revolution? Calls for radical diet and food production intervention to improve health and the planet17 Jan 2019 --- Feeding a growing population of 10 billion people by 2050 with a healthy and environmentally friendly diet will be impossible without dramatically transforming the global population’s eating habits, improving food production and reducing food waste. This is according to a Lancet commission of prominent academics that has put forward a planetary health diet. Health & Nutrition News Claiming concentration? Red Bull cautioned by UK advertising watchdog for “misleading” health claim17 Jan 2019 --- UK advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has banned a poster for the energy drink Red Bull for reportedly implying that Red Bull has a beneficial impact on health, in particular, focus and concentration. Suggesting a product aids focus and concentration is a health claim, and therefore must comply with the claims authorized on the EU register. This is According to Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. Health claims are defined as those that state, suggest or imply a relationship between a food, or ingredient and health. Health & Nutrition News Fast-tracking growth: Mérieux Equity Partners acquires majority stake of Nutragroup16 Jan 2019 --- Mérieux Equity Partners has acquired a majority stake in Nutragroup, the holding company of Omnipharm and B-Pharma labs. The acquisition was possible through the company’s third generation fund, Mérieux Participations 3, which is dedicated to fast-growing companies in the health and nutrition sectors. Nutragroup founder Mehdi Boulahia is to maintain a significant equity interest in the business. Health & Nutrition News Preventative healthcare buzz: Nuritas and Pharmavite partner on bioactive peptides in supplements16 Jan 2019 --- Irish biotech company Nuritas and supplement manufacturer Pharmavite have partnered in a bid to “transform” the dietary supplements industry. The partnership will combine Nuritas’ artificial intelligence (AI) technology with Pharmavite’s experience across multiple dosage forms. The news is the latest in a string of high profile partnerships for Nuritas, including BASF and Nestlé, and an indicator of Nuritas’ consumer strategy. Health & Nutrition News Has the haze lifted? As cannabis-derivatives get the green light, NPD expansion is set to grow15 Jan 2019 --- Cannabis-derivatives, such as hemp and cannabidiol (CBD), have been increasingly cropping up on ingredients lists in the US and elsewhere. A recent ruling, which came as the US Government launched its farm bill in December 2018, alleviates hemp of its illegal status, which is expected to spur further innovation. Part one of this NutritionInsight two-part report into cannabis-derived products in the nutrition and food industry explored the softening regulatory environment. Part two considers how the industry may respond to the opportunities that such regulation shifts may bring to the US and Canada, for example. More Articles |
.jpg)
