Melon Extract Against Obesity

Filed in archive Diet , Research on July 6, 2009

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In a study of hamsters fed a high fat diet, it was found that daily consumption of an antioxidant-rich melon extract may prevent obesity.

The said melon extract is commercially available as Extramel and is produced by France's Bionov.

Consumption of the commercially-available extract Extramel, produced by France's Bionov, in combination with a high-fat diet resulted in 29 per cent lower body weight compared to animals fed only the high-fat diet, according to findings published in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

"The major novel finding in our experimental conditions, and in comparison to HF, is that Extramel prevented obesity in high-fat fed hamsters by decreasing body weight, abdominal fat, triglyceridemia, insulinemia, insulin resistance, liver lipids, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and preventing adipokine imbalance," wrote the researchers, led by Jean-Max Rouanet from the University of Montpellier.

First discovered in 1968, Extramel is a rich source of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) and is dubbed 'the enzyme of life'.