Slimaluma Stops Fat Cell Growth

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI, IndiaA standardized extract of the plant Caralluma fimbriata (as Slimaluma from Gencor Pacific) inhibited fat cells from increasing in number, which suggests the natural ingredient can inhibit initial fat accumulation that affects lifelong health, according to a new study (Food Nutr Sci. 2011;(2,)329-336. DOI:10.4236/fns.2011.24047). The researchers explained Slimaluma interfered with a mechanism that allows fat cells to divide.

When a person increases weight, his body creates more fat cells that are not reduced even when weight is lost, making weight management that much harder in the long term. This condition is known as hyperplastic obesity, and this study shows Slimaluma can help reduce the initial increase of fat cell division during weight gain.

In this study, mouse fat cells (3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte cells) were treated with concentrations of 20 to 500 ug/ml of Slimaluma. The researchers kept a plain medium for a negative control and treated cells with hydroxyurea (a drug that inhibits cell growth) as the positive control. The cells were counted at 12-hour intervals, and their viability was tested using the MTT assay.The treated cells were subjected to direct and indirect immunofluorescent assays for cyclin D1, a protein found in cells that is associated with cell division.

Slimaluma inhibited 3T3-L1 cell growth in a dose and duration-dependent manner, with results comparable to those produced by hydroxyurea. The viability of Slimaluma-treated cells was reduced. Direct and indirect immunofluorescent assays demonstrated that Slimaluma inhibited import of cyclin D1 into the nucleus.

Caralluma fimbriata (C. fimbriata), an edible succulent belonging to the family Asclepiadaceae, grows wild in India, Africa and Europe. It is widely consumed as a food, appetite suppressant and treatment for diabetes. Slimaluma is a standardized extract of C. fimbriata containing pregnane and  etastigmane glycosides marketed as a supplement for weight loss. And according to a 2010 unpublished single-blind, intra-individual study conducted by Gencor Pacific, Slimaluma may also reduce cellulite.