Coleus forskohlii Extract Supplementation in Conjunction with a Hypocaloric Diet Reduces the Risk Factors of Metabolic Syndrome in Overweight and Obese Subjects: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Limited studies have shown that Coleus forskohlii extract may aid in weight management. This randomized, double blind placebo-controlled clinical study assessed the effects of supplementation with C. forskohlii extract on key markers of obesity and metabolic parameters in overweight and obese individuals. Thirty participants completed the trial and they were randomly assigned to receive either 250 mg of C. forskohlii extract (n = 15) or a placebo twice daily for 12 weeks. All participants were advised to follow a hypocaloric diet throughout the study. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumference, and waist to hip ratio, were monitored fortnightly. Dietary intake was assessed at the baseline and weeks 4, 8 and 12. Appetite was assessed using visual analogue scales and blood samples were analyzed for plasma lipids, ghrelin, leptin, glucose and insulin at the baseline and end of the intervention. Significant reductions to waist and hip circumference (p = 0.02; p = 0.01, respectively) were recorded in both experimental and placebo groups after the 12 week intervention. Furthermore, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) was significantly increased (p = 0.01) in both groups. The experimental group showed a favorable improvement in insulin concentration and insulin resistance (p = 0.001; 0.01 respectively) compared to the placebo group. These findings suggest that C. forskohlii extract in conjunction with a hypocaloric diet may be useful in the management of metabolic risk factors.

Effect of the herbal medicines in obesity and metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical trials

“…Besides, a significant decrease in appetite and increase in hunger was seen by P. vulgaris (with dose of 100 mg/day; Spadafranca et al, ), C. fimbriata (with dose of 1,000 mg/day; Kuriyan et al, ), spinach (with dose of 5,000 mg/day; Rebello et al, , Stenblom, Egecioglu, Landin‐olsson, & Erlanson‐albertsson, ), flaxseed (with dose of 2,500 mg/day; Ibrugger, Kristensen, Mikkelsen, & Astrup, ), fenugreek (with dose of 8,000 mg/day; Mathern, Raatz, Thomas, & Slavin, ), G. cambogia (with dose of 1,000 mg/day; Mayer et al, , Preuss et al, ), green coffee (Roshan, Nikpayam, Sedaghat, & Sohrab, ), and the combination simplicifolia , asiatica , Taraxacum officinale , Cynara Scolymus , Paullina Sorbilis , Alga Klamath (Rondanelli, Klersy, Iadarola, Monteferrario, & Opizzi, ), and a combination of G. cambogia and Amorphophallus konjac (Vasques et al, ; Figure ). Some other articles have shown that Gundelia tournefortii (Hajizadeh‐Sharafabad, Alizadeh, Mohammadzadeh, Alizadeh‐Salteh, & Kheirouri, ), Coleus forskohlii (Loftus et al, ), N. sativa (Mahdavi et al, ), Garcinia atroviridis (Roongpisuthipong, Kantawan, & Roongpisuthipong, ), C. fimbriata (Kuriyan et al, ), a combination of ephedra and caffeine (Hackman et al, ) as well as a combination of walnut and flaxseed (Wu et al, ) significantly reduces energy intake (Figure ).…”

“…In addition, some studies have recognized the effectiveness of herbal plants on body fat percent (BF%), fat mass (FM), and fat‐free mass (FFM). Also, significant decrease was seen in FM and BF% by green tea (green tea with dose of 6,000 mg/day and catechins with doses of 458, 468, and 886 mg/day; Tsai et al, , Wang et al, ), I. gabonensis (with dose of 300 mg/day; Ngondi et al, ), H. sabdariffa (with dose of 75 mg/day; Chang et al, ), Phaseolus Vulgaris (with dose of 445 mg/day; Celleno et al, , Perricone, ), G. cambogia (with doses of 2,400 and 3,000 mg/day [equivalent 1,200 and 1,500 mg hydroxycitric acid]; Heymsfield et al, , Vasques et al, ), Ecklonia cava (with doses of 72 and 144 mg/day; Shin, Kim, Park, Lee, & Hwang, ), cumin (with dose of 3,000 mg/day; Zare et al, ), Coleus forskolii (with dose of 250 mg/day; Loftus, Astell, Mathai, & Su, ), Sorghum tea (with dose of 1,000 ml/day) (Yokomichi, ), Gynostemma pentaphyllum (with dose of 450 mg/day; Park et al, ), and cinnamon (with dose of 550 mg/day; Vafa et al, ).…”

“…Besides, a significant decrease in appetite and increase in hunger was seen by P. vulgaris (with dose of 100 mg/day; Spadafranca et al, 2013), C. fimbriata (with dose of 1,000 mg/day; Kuriyan et al, 2007) (Loftus et al, 2015), N. sativa (Mahdavi et al, 2015), Garcinia atroviridis (Roongpisuthipong, Kantawan, & Roongpisuthipong, 2007), C. fimbriata (Kuriyan et al, FIGURE 2 Potential mechanisms of herbal medicine for obesityHerbal medicines and their products that can reduce weight through five mechanisms as follows: appetite suppressant and reduced energy intake, stimulation of thermogenesis and metabolic promoters, inhibiting the activity of pancreatic lipase and reducing of fat absorption, as well as increasing lipolysis and decreasing lipogenesis [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] 2007), a combination of ephedra and caffeine (Hackman et al, 2006) as well as a combination of walnut and flaxseed significantly reduces energy intake ( Figure 2).…”

The Natural cAMP Elevating Compound Forskolin in Cancer Therapy: Is It Time?

“…Interestingly, forskolin is one of the commercially important herbal ingredients for weight loss dietary supplements in the global market (Wagh et al, 2009;Kavitha et al, 2010;Kanne et al, 2015). Its favorable effects on body fat management have been clearly reported (Litosch et al, 1982;Haye et al, 1985;Burns et al, 1987;Shivaprasad et al, 2014) and clinical studies with oral administration of forskolin for up to 50 mg/day as a weight loss agent have not shown relevant side effects in patients (Godard et al, 2005;Henderson et al, 2005;Wagh et al, 2009Wagh et al, , 2012Kavitha et al, 2010;Sharma and Vasundhara, 2011;Hebbani Nagarajappa et al, 2015;Loftus et al, 2015).…”

“…) (Kanne et al, ). Notably, the natural compound forskolin has been used for centuries in traditional medicine, is considered to be affordable, and its safety has also been documented recently in modern medicine (Ammon and Müller, ; Godard et al, ; Henderson et al, ; Loftus et al, ). Forskolin directly activates the adenylate cyclase enzyme, that generates cAMP from ATP, thus raising intracellular cAMP concentrations (Seamon et al, ).…”