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By PTI
WASHINGTON: A new drug with capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their spicy burn, causes long-term weight loss and improves metabolic health in mice eating high fat diet.
The drug, Metabocin, was designed to slowly release capsaicin throughout the day so that it can exert its anti-obesity effect without producing inflammation or unwanted side effects , researchers at the University of Wyoming in the "We observed marked improvements in blood sugar and cholesterol, insulin response and symptoms of fatty liver," says Baskaran Thyagarajan, senior scientist, adding that Metabocin has reversed many of the detrimental effects of the high-fat diet. The team developed Metabocin, which can be taken orally, to target receptors called TRPV1 (a potential transient receptor 1 vanilloid subfamily) that are found in high numbers in fat cells.
TRPV1 receptors cause the burning of energy from white fat cells instead of storing them, which in theory should lead to weight loss.
An important question for the researchers was whether the drug remained effective long-term
The mice in this experiment stayed on the drug for eight months, maintaining weight loss without evidence of safety concerns.
"It has been proven safe and has been well tolerated by mice." The development of Metabocin as an anti-obesity treatment is promising as part of a robust strategy to help people cope with obesity, "said Thyagarajan.
The researchers warned that these findings might prompt some people to eat more spicy foods, however, this would not work as expected.
Most Capsaicin in spicy foods is not well absorbed into the body, so it would not produce these effects, they said.
Researchers specifically modified capsaicin in Metabocin for proper absorption and sustained release
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