The new ingredient, which the company has dubbed CurCousin, is extracted from Curcuma caesia, which carries the common name of black turmeric. The plant has bluish-black rhizomes as opposed to the bright orange-yellow hue of Curcuma longa. Black turmeric is native to northeastern India. The above ground parts of the plants are similar in both cases.
Sabinsa claims that CurCousin helps balance cholesterol and support healthy blood sugar levels and circulation. It also supports a healthy body weight by inhibiting adipogenesis (deposition of new fat cells). Sabinsa holds 65 US and international patents on this product, which has self-affirmed GRAS status.
Those claims on the product are supported by research done by a team that included SAbinsa founder Dr Muhammed Majeed, PhD.
In a 2016 study published in the International Journal of Ayurveda and Pharma Research, the team recruited 40 participants for a 90-day, placebo controlled study. The group that received 50 gm of CurCousin in two daily 25 mg doses lost a statistically significant greater amount of weight than the control group.
Additionally, a significant change in serum biomarkers like leptin, adiponectin, and cortisol was observed in the study subjects, with improved blood lipid profiles. Moreover, Calebin A was found to be safe and well-tolerated by all the subjects. The clinical study showed that Calebin A is effective in managing healthy body weight by inhibiting adipogenesis and is an ideal candidate to support metabolic health.
“Deep knowledge of curcumin has been a passion of our research teams for many years, and has resulted in industry leading ingredients like Curcumin C3 Complex,” said Dr Majeed. “We’re enthusiastic about the potential of CurCousin and eager to share details about it with our customers across the world.”
In addition to the weight management study, Sabinsa has had research published in peer reviewed journals on the positive effects of Calebin A on markers of non alcoholic fatty liver disease and on cancer-induced osteoporosis.