The use of a standardised sea weed extract by the name of Eckclonia cava has attracted considerable interest in the management of a variety of human health problems, mainly based around its purported long half-life antioxidant capabilities. This paper published in Phytotherapy Research adds further clarification to its potential use in the management of individuals with weight and lipid related problems.[1]
The effects of 12-week supplementation with a polyphenol extract from Ecklonia cava (ECP) on anthropometry, serum biochemistry and hematology have been investigated. Ninety-seven overweight male and female adults (average age 40.5 ± 9.2 yr and body mass index (BMI) of 26.5 ± 1.6 kg/m(2) ) were enrolled in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with parallel-group design.
Subjects were randomly allocated into three groups designated as PC (placebo), LD (low-dose, 72 mg-ECP/day) and HD (high-dose, 144 mg-ECP/day).
Both LD and HD groups showed significant decreases in BMI, body fat ratio, waist circumference, waist/hip ratio, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and atherogenic index (AI) after 12 weeks, as compared with the placebo group.
The HD group also showed a significant increase in serum HDL cholesterol as compared with the placebo group.
Only the HD group showed significant decreases in serum glucose and systolic blood pressure after 12 weeks.
There was no significant adverse event related with ingestion of ECP, and serum biochemical and hematological parameters were maintained within normal range during the intervention period.
In conclusion, these results demonstrated that ECP supplementation significantly contributed to lowering body fat and serum lipid parameters such as total and LDL cholesterols with dose dependence.
Further studies using different populations, dosages or biological markers are highly recommended to better understand the physiological features of this polyphenol
Reference
[1] Shin HC, Kim SH, Park Y, Lee BH, Hwang HJ. Effects of 12-week Oral Supplementation of Ecklonia cava Polyphenols on Anthropometric and Blood Lipid Parameters in Overweight Korean Individuals: A Double-blind Randomized Clinical Trial. Phytother Res. 2011 Jun 30. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3559 View Abstract
