title: Grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) extract activates brown adipose tissue and increases whole-body energy expenditure in men.
abstract: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is responsible for cold- and diet-induced thermogenesis, and thereby contributes to the control of whole-body energy expenditure (EE) and body fat content. BAT activity can be assessed by fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) in human subjects. Grains of paradise (GP, Aframomum melegueta), a species of the ginger family, contain pungent, aromatic ketones such as 6-paradol, 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol. An alcohol extract of GP seeds and 6-paradol are known to activate BAT thermogenesis in small rodents. The present study aimed to examine the effects of the GP extract on whole-body EE and to analyse its relation to BAT activity in men. A total of nineteen healthy male volunteers aged 20-32 years underwent FDG-PET after 2 h of exposure to cold at 19°C with light clothing. A total of twelve subjects showed marked FDG uptake into the adipose tissue of the supraclavicular and paraspinal regions (BAT positive). The remaining seven showed no detectable uptake (BAT negative). Within 4 weeks after the FDG-PET examination, whole-body EE was measured at 27°C before and after oral ingestion of GP extract (40 mg) in a single-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, crossover design. The resting EE of the BAT-positive group did not differ from that of the BAT-negative group. After GP extract ingestion, the EE of the BAT-positive group increased within 2 h to a significantly greater (P<0·01) level than that of the BAT-negative group. Placebo ingestion produced no significant change in EE. These results suggest that oral ingestion of GP extract increases whole-body EE through the activation of BAT in human subjects.
authors: Department of Nutrition, School of Nursing and Nutrition, Tenshi Collage, Kita-13, Higashi-3, Higashi-ku, Sapporo 065-0013, Japan.
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Sugita
authors: Takeshi
authors: T
authors: Yoneshiro
authors: Takuya
authors: T
authors: Hatano
authors: Sayuri
authors: S
authors: Aita
authors: Takeshi
authors: T
authors: Ikemoto
authors: Hideyo
authors: H
authors: Uchiwa
authors: Toshihiko
authors: T
authors: Iwanaga
authors: Toshimitsu
authors: T
authors: Kameya
authors: Yuko
authors: Y
authors: Kawai
authors: Masayuki
authors: M
authors: Saito
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D002153:Calorimetry, Indirect; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006139:Guaiacol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007659:Ketones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012639:Seeds / Q000378:metabolism; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult; D030521:Zingiberaceae / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007659:Ketones; D010936:Plant Extracts; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006139:Guaiacol; C421614:6-paradol