What Is The Weight Loss Drug Called Fucoxanthin?

Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid pigment found in edible brown seaweeds like Undaria pinnatifida, also known as wakame and Hijikia fusiformis, also known as hijiki. These types of seaweed are commonly used in Japanese cuisine. An October 2009 article in the "The Journal of Toxicological Sciences" notes that in addition to stimulating weight loss in mice fucoxanthin has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and anticancer activities; however, no studies have been conducted in humans to confirm these effects.

Human Studies

Only one study has currently been conducted in humans which has evaluated the effectiveness of fucoxanthin supplementation for weight loss. A study published in the January 2010 issue of the journal "Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism" reports that the supplement, Xanthigen, which contains 300 mg pomegranate seed oil and 300 mg brown seaweed extract significantly increased weight loss and reduced body fat and liver fat content in obese women treated for 16 weeks.

Animal Studies

A study in the September 2010 issue of the "Biotechnology Journal" reports that at dietary levels between 0.05 and 0.2 percent fucoxanthin decreased abdominal fat, weight gain, circulating lipids and cholesterol levels in mice fed a high fat diet. Another study in the September 2007 issue of the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry" reports that diabetic mice fed a diet with 0.1 percent fucoxanthin and 6.9 percent fish oil gained less weight and 0.2 percent dietary fucoxanthin without fish oil supplementation significantly lowered blood glucose and insulin levels. The results from animal studies suggest fucoxanthin may be effective in stimulating weight loss in humans and potentially positively influence glucose and fat metabolism.

Mechanism of Action

During normal metabolism the body produces heat. Fucoxanthin increases the amount of energy released as heat in fat tissue, a process also called thermogenesis. A study published December 2009 in the journal "Molecular Nutrition and Food Research" reports that fucoxanthin affects multiple enzymes involved in fat metabolism causing an increase in the production of energy from fat.

Toxicity

The human study published in January 2010 in the journal "Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism" reports that women treated with the dietary supplement, Xanthigen for 16 weeks did not report any significant adverse effects. A toxicity study in the October 2009 issue of "The Journal of Toxicological Sciences" reports that at doses of 500 and 1,000 mg/kg per day for 30 days fucoxanthin did not affect liver, kidney, spleen and gonadal tissues in mice; however fucoxanthin did significantly elevate levels of total cholesterol. This study only measured total cholesterol and did not specifically measure the effects of fucoxanthin on high density lipoproteins, also known as good cholesterol and low density lipoproteins, also known as bad cholesterol.

Supplements

Fucoxanthin supplements most often contain other ingredients that also may stimulate weight loss. Many supplements do not report exactly how much fucoxanthin they contain. Others note equivalent doses of fucoxanthin that are between 2 and 5 mg per capsule. In the human study published in the January 2010 edition of "Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism," the equivalent dietary dose of fucoxanthine in the supplement Xanthigen that increased weight loss was 2.4 mg per day.