Clinical trial finds a new mechanism for green coffee bean extract for weight loss

Obesity is known to contribute to a several  life threatening diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and respiratory problems.

The use of natural plant based products in addition to increased physical activity and other lifestyle modifications are routinely used.

One popoular product for to help lose weight has been green coffee beans. Green coffee bean extract is made from coffee beans that have not been roasted.

The use of green coffee beans or unroasted coffee beans is considered beneficial because the phytochemicals are not believed to be degraded.

One of the phytochemicals in green coffee beans that have been of interested are the phenylpropanoid esters of quinic acid (also known as chlorogenic acids).

A study published in the journal Phytomedicine evaluate the role of green coffee bean extract on reducing markers of oxidative stress.

green cofee beans

Here are the study details

Patients: 10 healthy adult volunteers, 5 men and 5 women.  Patients consumed 400 mg of green coffee bean extract (containing 4.9% of 5-CQA, 0.5 % of caffeine and 0.3% trigonelline) for 30 days.

Study agent: The green coffee bean extract was purchased and analyzed for the phyotochemical content.

Urine collection: Urine was collected 24 hours after taking the green coffee bean extract and analyzed.

 

Here are the results

Polyphenols were analyzed in the extract and quantified.  The extract contained 9% chlorogenic acids and 0.5% caffeine.

The analysis found evidence that fatty acid metabolism was increased following green coffee bean extract.

Here are more articles on plant based products to help with weight loss

Take away message

The amount of chlorgenic acids in coffee can vary from about 4 to 8 percentdepending on the variety.  For example, Coffee Arabic may contain 4 to 8% while Coffee robusta may contain anywhere from 7 to 14%.  It is very important when looking at plant extracts including green coffee bean extract that you know the concentration of the phytochemicals found in the extract.

Interestingly, the weight of the volunteers in this study did not change, however, it should be noted that the average BMI (body mass index) was 23.  A BMI of 23 is not considered ‘overweight’.  However, what is more interesting about this study is that a change in fatty acid metabolism was observed.  Further research is needed to determine what phytochemicals are responsible for this.

 

Reference

Peron G et al.  Urine metabolomics shows an induction of fatty acids metabolism in healthy adult volunteers after supplementation with green coffee (Coffea robusta L.) bean extract  Phytomedicine Volume 38, 15 January 2018, Pages 74-83

Jeremy Johnson, PharmD, PhD


Categories: Clinical Trials, Plant Extracts, Weight loss