Ajinomoto gets trademark for capsinoid ingredient
Capsinoids are sister compounds to the more famous and more pungent compound capsaicin. While the ingredient has been reported to also produce thermogenic effects like capsaicin, capsinoids are not said to produce the gastrointestinal side effects of its more pungent relative.
The FDA issued a GRAS letter of no objection to Ajinimoto in early 2009 for the company's capsinoid ingredient. Capsiate Natura has also successfully completed the FDA’s New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) notification process, added Ajinomoto.
"While most weight management aids focus on the caloric intake, Capsiate Natura is unique in targeting the other side of the equation, the caloric output," said Brendan Naulty, president of Ajinomoto Food Ingredients. "Increasing the body's metabolism to burn more calories can be as important to weight management as diet and exercise."
The ingredient is only available through medical professionals in the US, and over 200 doctors are currently said to be distributing and recommending the product to their patients.
According to the company, Capsinoids' safety and efficacy have been researched in nearly 50 studies conducted in Japan, Europe and US to date. Indeed, only recently scientists from the University of California at Los Angeles reported that a daily dose of 9 milligrams of dihydrocapsiate was associated with a significant enhancement in energy expenditure after a meal, compared with a lower dose of 3 milligrams or placebo.
“In this small double-blinded, randomized, placebo controlled trial, we found that the consumption of a nonpungent capsiate supplement by overweight and obese subjects significantly increased post-prandial energy expenditure when combined with a high protein, very low calorie diet on an outpatient basis,” wrote researchers, led by David Heber MD, PhD, from UCLA’s Center for Human Nutrition in Nutrition & Metabolism (2010, 7:78, doi: 10.1186/1743-7075-7-78).
