Desalted glasswort shows potential as a food supplement to control obesity

Glasswort (Salicornia europaea), also known as common or jointed glasswort, has been identified as a functional food against obesity in a study published in Pharmaceutical Biology. The authors of the study discovered that the plant’s desalted powder has antiobesity and antiadipogenic properties.

• Previous inquiries established the presence of dietary fiber in glasswort. Past studies also found that the plant has antilipidemic effects.
• The researchers decided to use desalted S. europaea powder (DSP) because it was a potentially healthier and more attractive functional food compared to high-salt conventional glasswort powder.
• To test DSP’s antiobesity properties, the researchers divided 50 rats into five groups:
  • Control group (NC)
  • High-fat diet-induced obesity control group (HFD)
  • Obese group administered 250 mg/kg of DSP
  • Obese group administered 500 mg/kg of DSP
  • Obese group administered 200 mg/kg of Garcinia cambogia extract (GE)
• The treatment lasted for 12 weeks.
• They found that relative to the HFD group (625.25 ± 14.02 kg), reductions in body weight were observed in the groups administered with 250 mg/kg of DSP (596.51 ± 19.84 kg, 4.60 percent), 500 mg/kg of DSP (562.08 ± 9.74 kg, 10.10 percent), and GE (576.00 ± 11.29 kg, 7.88 percent). Reductions in abdominal fat mass and serum lipid levels were also observed.
• No impact on feed intake was noted.
• The researchers identified trans-ferulic acid (TFA) as DSP’s main ingredient. They discovered that DSP-derived TFA effectively suppressed adipocyte differentiation and accumulation of intracellular lipids. It also attenuated the adipogenesis-related gene expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-alpha, and fatty acid synthase.

The researchers concluded that glasswort had antiobesity and antiadipogenic properties that make it a potentially effective functional food against obesity.

Read the full text of the study at this link.

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Journal Reference:

Rahman MM, Kim M-J, Kim J-H, Kim S-H, Go H-K, Kweon M-H, Kim D-H. DESALTED SALICORNIA EUROPAEA POWDER AND ITS ACTIVE CONSTITUENT, TRANS-FERULIC ACID, EXERT ANTI-OBESITY EFFECTS BY SUPPRESSING ADIPOGENIC-RELATED FACTORS. Pharmaceutical Biology. 09 March 2018;56(1):183–191. DOI: 10.1080/13880209.2018.1436073