# The science behind Sesamol in fat loss supplements



## Arnold (Nov 4, 2019)

*The science behind Sesamol in fat loss supplements*

Creative designers of fat loss supplements have discovered sesamol as a component that should make their formulas more effective. Although we have not yet been able to find human research into the biological effects of sesamol, according to an animal study by Northwest A&F University in China, the use of sesamol in fat loss supplements might be a clever idea.

*Study*
For 12 weeks, the researchers gave a group of C57BL/6J mice food that had been enriched with extra energy in the form of fat and had stopped fructose. [HFFD] Some of these mice got sesamol through their drinking water. [HFFD + sesamol] If the mice were adult humans, they would have received 400-500 milligrams of sesamol daily.

Mice in a control group received standard food, without obesogenic components. Those mice did not receive sesame. 

*Sesamol*
Sesamol is present in sesame seeds, together with lignans such as sesamin, episesamin, sesamolin and sesaminol. [Figure] Sesamol is a building block of these lignans. Sesamol is also on the market as a raw material for the chemical industry, which makes it the antidepressant paroxetine and insecticides.

Mice in a control group received standard food, without obesogenic components. Those mice did not receive sesame. 

Although the slimming effect of sesamol in humans has not yet been investigated, insightful and creative inventors of fat loss supplements have recently started applying sesameol in their formulas.

To be honest, we would not be surprised if sesameol will pop up in supplements that should optimize the hormone levels of bodybuilders. In Asian test tube studies, sesamol increases the production of hormones by the cells of Leydig [J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Sep 28;59(18):9885-91.] by activating the StAR protein. At the same time, sesamol has a mild anti-estrogenic effect in other cell types. [J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Jan 12;59(1):212-21.]

*Results*
Supplementation with sesamol halved the weight gain through the high-calorie feed, see below.

The figure at the top left shows how sesamol works at the molecular level. In the fattened mice, sesamol maintained the production of PGC-1-alpha. PGC-1-alpha causes cells to produce mitochrondria. These are the organelles of the cell that convert nutrients into cellular energy.

The figure above relates to brown fat cells, but the researchers saw similar phenomena in the liver. Sesamol probably works everywhere in the body, in vitro studies with various cell types suggest. [Food Sci Biotechnol. 2017 Feb 28;26(1):195-200.] [Inflamm Res. 2015 Aug;64(8):577-88.] Sesamol is a universal AMPK booster.

*Conclusion*
"Sesamol alleviated high fat and high fructose diet-feeding induced obesity and insulin resistance in C57BL/6J mice", summarize the researchers. "Specifically, sesamol partly normalizing mitochondria lipid metabolism gene expressions and downregulated lipid accumulation in both liver and adipose tissues."

"Therefore, sesamol could be considered an alternative nutritional complement in combination with the preventive and therapeutic strategies against obesity associated complications."

Source: Mol Nutr Food Res. 2017 Aug;61(8).


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