Thread: Boussingaultia gracilis burns fat and protects the liver

Boussingaultia gracilis burns fat and protects the liver
by Anthony Roberts ~ source

I do quite a bit of research into herbs that might have potential in the nutritional market, although I don’t always write about them immediately. And generally I like to experiment with them before I put a lengthy article out there. But although I haven’t gotten a chance to experiment with Boussingaultia gracilis, I think it’s worth mentioning, just because the preliminary rodent data appears so promising. It looks like this stuff not only burns fat and improves insulin sensitivity, but also helps protect the liver.
Why is this so interesting to me, or to the supplement industry as a whole? I’m glad you asked. It’s interesting because we’ve seen two fat burning supplements become the center of tremendous lawsuits in the past few years: 1. Hydroxycut, which caused at least one death and is the subject of multiple unresolved lawsuits and 2. Lipolyze/Somalyze which almost caused a death and is the subject of a personal injury lawsuit.

So in my estimation, a fat burning ingredient that actually protects the liver, is a very promising find, and has a ton of potential for future inclusion in a supplement. Here’s the (rodent) data:

Anti-obesity and hypolipidemic effects of Boussingaultia gracilis Miers var. pseudobaselloides Bailey in obese rats.

Wang L, Bang CY, Choung SY.
Source

Department of Hygienic Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Boussingaultia gracilis Miers var. pseudobaselloides Bailey is used as a Chinese folk medicine for treatment of diabetes, inflammation, and liver disease. The present study is to investigate the anti-obesity and hypolipidemic effects of B. gracilis Miers var. pseudobaselloides Bailey ethanol extract (BGE). Six-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats were separately fed for 6 weeks with two kinds of diets-a normal diet (ND) and a high-calorie high-fat diet (HD). Then the animals were treated with tea catechin (100 mg/kg) or BGE (300, 600, or 900 mg/kg) for another 6 weeks. BGE significantly lowered body weight gain, fat-pad weights, and serum and hepatic lipid levels in HD-induced obese rats. The lipid droplets in hepatic tissue of BGE-treated groups were also markedly lessened compared with HD group rats via oil red O staining. Significant increases were observed in the expressions of genes for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α and for fatty acid oxidation and thermogenesis-related proteins-acyl-coenzyme A oxidase, carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1, and uncoupling protein-2-in the liver of the BGE-treated groups. Moreover, BGE was found to suppress the expression of sterol response element binding protein-1, a lipogenic gene, as well as those of fatty acid synthase and PPARγ in adipose tissue and liver of HD group rats. These results indicate that B. gracilis Miers var. pseudobaselloides Bailey may have an anti-obesity and hypolipidemic effect through regulation of expression of genes involved in lipolysis and lipogenesis.

And another study seems to indicate that it has potential liver-protective and anti-inflammatory effects – the latter more potent than indomethacin, a prescription anti-inflammatory:

The antiinflammatory and liver protective effects of Boussingaultia gracilis var. pseudobaselloides extract in rats

Abstract

The pharmacological effects of Boussingaultia gracilis var. pseudobaselloides was studied against carrageenaninduced paw oedema, CCI4 and D-galactosamine (D-GalN) induced hepatotoxicity in rats. The water extracts of B. gracilis var. pseudobaselloides (leaf, stem, brood bud) were found to maintain significant antiinflammatory activity against carrageenan-induced oedema. The administration of the brood bud extract (300 mg/kg) was more potent than indomethacin (10 mg/kg).

Moreover, the water extracts of B. gracilis var. pseudobaselloides (leaf, stem, brood bud) significantly decreased the acute increase in serum GOT and GPT levels caused by CCI4 and D-GalN. Histological changes such as necrosis, fatty change, ballooning degeneration, inflammatory infiltration of lymphocytes and Kupffer cells around the central vein (CCI4-induced hepatotoxicity) and portal vein (D-GalN induced hepatotoxicity), were simultaneously improved by the treatment with B. gracilis var. pseudobaselloides (leaf, stem, brood bud).

Wow this is interesting and I really need a good edge in fat burning. When is it expected to be in stores?