HCA Combination Product Effective for Weight Loss

HCA Combination Product Effective for Weight Loss

BENICIA, Calif.A combination of (-)-hydroxycitric acid (HCA-SX, asSuper CitriMax from InterHealth Nutraceuticals Inc.), niacin-bound chromium(as ChromeMate, from InterHealth) and Gymnema sylvestre extract maybeeffective for weight loss.

During a company-sponsored study, 30 subjects received either HCASX (2,800mg/d of HCA), a combination of HCA-SX plus niacin-bound chromium (400 mcg/d ofchromium) and Gymnema sylvestre extract (400 mg/d providing 100 mggymnemic acids), or placebo approximately 30 minutes to 60 minutes before eachmeal three times per day for eight weeks. All three groups followed a 2,000calorie daily diet and walked for 30 minutes five days per week.

At the end of the eight-week period, subjects taking HCA-SX lost an averageof 12 pounds and reduced their body mass index (BMI) by 6.3 percent, whilesubjects taking the HCA-SX combination lost an average of 15 pounds and reducedtheir BMI by 7.9 percent. The placebo group lost an average of 3 pounds andreduced BMI by 1.6 percent, according to the study.

Total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglyceride levels alsodecreased in both HCA-SX groups; however, the combination group hadsignificantly lower levels, whereas the placebo group saw only minor decreases.Serum serotonin levels (a hormone related to appetite control) also increased by40 percent in the HCA-SX group, by 50 percent in the HCA-SX combination groupand by only 21 percent in the placebo group. Both HCA-SX groups had reducedappetites, with the HCA-SX-only group experiencing a 4-percent reduction inappetite and the HCA-SX combination group experiencing a 14.1-percent reductionin appetite.

At the time of publication, InterHealths Super CitriMax- ChromeMate-G.sylvestre formula was patent pending. The results of the trial werepublished in Nutrition Research (24, 1:45-58, 2004) (www.elsevier.nl/locate/nutres).