Eucommia ulmoides burns fat via the autonomic nervous system

Traditional herbal healers in Asia use extracts of the rubber tree Eucommia ulmoides to increase a person's yang: masculinity and heat. Modern science has now confirmed these effects. Researchers at the ANBAS Corporation in Japan discovered that extracts of the leaves from this tree have a thermogenic effect in rats.

Sports supplements like Man's Primal Male contain extracts of Eucommia ulmoides. The supplements are intended to be plant-based androgenic hormone preparations that enhance men's masculinity. And to be honest, Eucommia ulmoides should work, in theory. In 2007 researchers at the National University of Singapore discovered a steroid compound in Eucommia ulmoides that attaches itself to the androgen receptor. [BMC Complement Altern Med. 2007 Jan 29;7:3.] Its androgenic effect wasn't particularly strong, but never mind.

The Japanese weren't looking at substances themselves – they were studying effects on the autonomic nervous system. The ANBAS Corporation – ANBAS stands for Autonomic Nerve BAsed Science – studies the effects of substances on the autonomic nervous system. This is the part of the nervous system that controls the functions of organs. The ANBAS Corporation goes in search of compounds that manufacturers of medicines, cosmetics, supplements and functional foods can use in new products. The researchers collaborated with the research department of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, a producer of OTC medicines.

The Japanese wanted to know whether they could get rats to burn more energy by giving them the yang-enhancing Eucommia ulmoides. If this worked, it would mean that they might have a preparation that could be added to slimming supplements.

When the researchers injected 5 mg of a homemade water-based extract [ELE] into the rats' duodenum, they noticed that the animals' body temperature rose. The nerves controlling the white fat tissue became more active and the amount of free fatty acids in the animals' blood also rose.