ChromeMate ups Fat Metabolism, Muscle Activity

COLUMBUS, OhioResearchers at Ohio State University Medical Center found an oxygen-coordinated oral niacin-bound form of chromium (ChromeMate®, InterHealth Nutraceuticals) affects fat metabolism and muscle activity at the genetic level. The effects of ChromeMate on the subcutaneous fat tissue of type 2 obese diabetic mice were examined using 45,101 high-density comprehensive mouse genome sets.

Genes involved in glycolysis, muscle contraction, muscle metabolism and muscle development were specifically upregulated in response to ChromeMate. And, genes in the adipose tissue that were down-regulated in response to ChromeMate included key components involved in the thermogenic role of brown adipose tissue and tocopherol transfer protein, the primary carrier of tocopherol to adipose tissue.

The down-regulation of cell death-inducing DNA fragmentation factor (CIDEA) and uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) is particularly heartening, because of their specific role related to obesity, and because brown fat is the most difficult type of fat for people to lose, said Debasis Bagchi, Ph.D., senior vice president of research and development for InterHealth. These results tell us that supplementation may in fact help individuals who are predisposed to having a problem losing brown fat tissue, he added. The study was published in Physiological Genomics (27:370-379, 2006).