Extracts from citrus and Tongkat Ali may help with weight management in obese people: RCT

22-Nov-2021 - Last updated on 22-Nov-2021 at 18:04 GMT

The CitruSlim supplement, a combination of Citrus bergamia and Eurycoma longifolia, led to an average reduction in BMI of over 3%. Image © bymuratdeniz / Getty Images

Supplementation with a proprietary combination of extracts from Bergamot orange and Tongkat Ali led to significant reductions in BMI in a 112-day study with obese people, showing the potential of the ingredient for weight management formulations.

Scientists from the Austral University of Chile and Vedic Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd. report that the low and high dose supplementation with the CitruSlim-branded ingredient led to significant reductions in BMI of around 3.25% from day 0 to day 112, and these reductions were statistically significant compared to the placebo group.

On the other hand, no impacts on parameters associated with dyslipidemia and metabolic disturbances were recorded in the obese subjects, according to findings published in Phytotherapy Research.

“[R]esults of the present study indicate that CitruSlim is well tolerated and effective in promoting BMI-DXA and weight loss in obese individuals,” wrote the researchers.

CitruSlim is distributed by Florida-based HP Ingredients and the company funded the study.

Constituents

CitruSlim is a combination of flavanone-O-glycosides from Bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia) and eurypeptides from Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia).

Tongkat Ali comes from the root of a tree native to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, and was dubbed the “Asian Viagra” by the New Sunday Times in 1999. Supplements containing the ingredient are often positioned for male libido, energy, weight loss, and sports performance.

The new study tested two doses of the CitruSlim-branded ingredient: 200 mg or 400 mg per day.

Ninety-seven obese people were recruited to participate in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: placebo, low-dose CitruSlim (CitruSlim-LD), or high-dose CitruSlim (CitruSlim-HD) for 112 days.

At the end of the study BMI was found to have decreased by 3.2% and 3.3% in the low and high-dose groups respectively, compared to baseline, and these changes were statistically significant compared to the placebo group. These changes were in the range of 1 kg/m2 of BMI.

“Since all participants in this study were counselled on diet control (20 cal/kg) and exercise, and their records showed similar diet and exercise compliance, the significant weight loss could be attributable to CitruSlim administration,” wrote the authors.

The supplements were also well tolerated, they added.

On the other hand, no significant improvements were reported for a markers associated with dyslipidemia and metabolic disturbances, they said.

At the end of the study, CitruSlim HD and CitruSlim LD significantly reduced BMI compared to the placebo group and were well tolerated; however, it did not improve parameters associated with dyslipidemia and metabolic disturbances. The study findings suggested that CitruSlim was effective in reducing body weight in obese patients.

Source: Phytotherapy Research
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1002/ptr.7331
“An exploratory double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study to assess the efficacy of CitruSlim on body composition and lipid parameters in obese individuals”
Authors: J. Hancke, et al.