Ten weeks of supplementation with the yeast hydrolysate acquired from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was associated with an average reduction in body weight of 2.6 kg (5.7 lbs), compared with a 0.83 kg (1.8 lbs) increase in the control group.
In addition, BMI decreased in the yeast hydrolysate group over 10 weeks, with an average reduction of 0.90 kg/m2, compared with a slight increase of 0.29 kg/m2 in the control group, according to data published in Nutrition.
“Yeast hydrolysate can induce a reduction in body weight and abdominal fat accumulation without adverse effects on lean body mass in obese adults, regardless of sex, via the reduction of calorie intake,” wrote the authors, led by Eun Young Jung, PhD, from Jeonju University.
“These results suggest that yeast hydrolysate can possibly be used to prevent and reduce abdominal fat accumulation.”
The South Korean authors stated that the underlying mechanism of how the yeast hydrolysate may influence body fat and weight is not known, but they propose that there may be an effect on appetite control in the central nervous system.
Entry into the US
Jay H. Kim, CEO of Neo Cremar Co., Ltd. told NutraIngredients-USA that his company has already commercialized the yeast hydrolysate under the name of Eatless & DNF-10 in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, etc. and has just started promotion in US. The yeast hydrolysate was developed by Prof. Suh of Korea University through cooperation with Neo Cremar.
Mr Kim added that the company continues to research the ingredient. "We have researched physiological functions, mechanism, safety through various in vitro, in vivo & human clinical tests. We are investigating index materials and functional materials of yeast hydrolysate at this moment."
Study details
Dr Jung and the other researchers recruited 54 obese men and women to participate in their study. The participants were randomly assigned to consumer 0.5 grams of the yeast hydrolysate or dextrin (control) twice per day (30 minutes before breakfast and dinner) for ten weeks.
Results indicated that significant reductions in energy intake were observed in the participants of the yeast hydrolysate group after six weeks and maintained until the end of the study. After ten weeks, body weight and BMI were significantly decreased in the yeast hydrolysate group, compared to both baseline and the control group.
Furthermore, significant differences between the groups were observed for abdominal fat thickness and abdominal circumference after 10 weeks, they said, with average reductions in total abdominal fat area of 17.3 cm2, compared with only 7 cm2 in the control group.
“In this study, yeast hydrolysate supplementation significantly decreased the thickness, circumference, area, and sagittal diameter of abdominal fat without reducing lean body mass,” they wrote. “Recently, hepatic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme activities, which provide the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate required for fatty acid synthesis, have been reportedly inhibited by yeast hydrolysate supplementation in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Yeast hydrolysate might also suppress abdominal fat accumulation by modulating lipogenesis via the activities of hepatic lipid-regulating enzymes.”
Source: Nutrition
Volume 30, Issue 1, Pages 25-32, doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2013.02.009
“Yeast hydrolysate can reduce body weight and abdominal fat accumulation in obese adults”
Authors: E.Y. Jung, M.K. Cho, Y-H Hong, et al.