A Nutraceutical Containing Chlorogenic Acid and Luteolin Improves Cardiometabolic Parameters in Subjects with Pre-Obesity: A 6-Month Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

• Published in: Nutrients 2023-01, Vol.15 (2), p.462
• Main Authors: Terzo, Simona, Amato, Antonella, Magán-Fernández, Antonio, Castellino, Giuseppa, Calvi, Pasquale, Chianetta, Roberta, Giglio, Rosaria V, Patti, Angelo M, Nikolic, Dragana, Firenze, Alberto, Mulè, Flavia, Ciaccio, Marcello, Rizzo, Manfredi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Anthropometry; Atherosclerosis; Blood pressure; Body weight; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control; Chlorogenic Acid; Cholesterol; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Dietary Supplements; Double-Blind Method; Double-blind studies; Enzymes; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Glucose; Glucose metabolism; Health risks; High density lipoprotein; Humans; Lipids; Lipoproteins; Liver; Low density lipoprotein; Luteolin; Metabolism; Obesity; Placebos; Statistical analysis; Subgroups; Triglycerides; Weight reduction; Womens health
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu15020462

Pre-obesity is a condition that predisposes to the risk of developing obesity, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and diabetes. Our previous study demonstrated that a Cynara cardunculus (L.) based nutraceutical named Altilix® (Bionap, Italy), containing chlorogenic acid and luteolin extracts, was able to improve several hepatic and cardio-metabolic parameters. Given this background, we conducted a post-hoc analysis of the Altilix® study in order to analyze the supplement’s effects in the subgroup of pre-obesity subjects on anthropometry (weight and waist circumference), glucose metabolism (HbA1C, HOMA-IR, and HOMA-β), lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol), hepatic functionality (FLI, AST, ALT and AST/ALT), carotid-media thickness (CIMT) and endothelial function (FMD). Fifty subjects from the original study cohort (which consisted of 100 subjects) were chosen with BMI ≥ 25 and < 30 kg/m2. All subjects received the Altilix® supplement (150 mg/day) or placebo using a computer-based random allocation system. After six months of treatment Altilix® significantly reduced body weight, glycemic, and lipid parameters (total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol) and improved hepatic functionality, CIMT, and FMD. In conclusion, these results confirm that Altilix® supplementation has a significant effect on cardiometabolic parameters not only in obese subjects but also in pre-obesity subjects.