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13.03.2017

The unprecedented possibilities of the Horny Goat Weed-leucine cocktail

The amino acid leucine and the flavonoid icariin - the active ingredient in Horny Goat Weed - boost each other's effect on fat and muscle cells. A cocktail containing very civilised doses of these two substances increases insulin sensitivity, fat oxidation and mitochondria synthesis, according to a sponsored animal study that American researchers published in Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity. Targets and Therapy.

Study
The researchers did in-vitro experiments on muscle and fat cells, but also did experiments with mice. The animal study lasted for 6 weeks. Some of the mice were given standard feed and were the control group; the rest were given feed that the researchers had added extra fat to [HFD].

Some of the HFD mice were also given leucine [Leu] mixed in with their feed; others were given icariin [Icar] and yet another group was given leucine and icariin. The human equivalent of the doses they used would be about 2-3 g leucine and 20-30 mg icariin per day. Both doses are extremely civilised.

The researchers also carried out trials with sildenafil [Sild], the active ingredient in Viagra, but we haven't included the results of these here. Like icariin, sildenafil also inhibits the enzyme PDE-5. PDE-5 inhibitors boost the concentration of nitrogen monoxide in the body.

Results
In test tubes, the fat and muscle cells burned more fats when they were exposed to leucine and icariin. OCR = oxygen consumption rate; the cells were exposed to the fatty acid palmitate.

Nevertheless, supplementation did not inhibit bodyweight increase. Perhaps the experiment was too short, the researchers speculated.

Supplementation with the leucine and icariin combination boosted the effect of insulin. In the mice that had been fattened the combo resulted in a decrease in both glucose and insulin levels. The figure below shows this. Moreover, the researchers were able to show that the leucine-icariin combination boosted cells’ uptake and burning of glucose.

In the mouse muscle cells, the leucine-icariin combination boosted the activity of genes involved in fat burning, such as PPAR-alpha and carnitine-palmitoyltransferase [CPT1B], as you can see in the figure above.

In the liver [and probably also in the fat cells] of the mice, the combination of leucine and icariin inhibited the effect of genes involved in the synthesis and storage of fatty acid synthase [FAS] and stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 [SCD1].

More fat burning and improved insulin function... that raises the question of whether this leucine-icariin combination would also be interesting for endurance athletes.

This study doesn't answer that question. However, the researchers did look at the effect of leucine and icariin on the synthesis of mitochondria by muscle cells in vitro, which did take place.

The mitochondria are the cells' powerhouses. If you increase the number of mitochondria in muscle cells, you also increase endurance capacity.

The figure below shows how the researchers think that leucine and icariin boost each other's effect.

Other animal studies have shown that icariin extends life expectancy. Would that effect increase with leucine co-supplementation?

Sponsor
The study was financed by NuSirt Biopharma. [nusirt.com] NuSirt was established by the nutritionist Michael Zemel [PubMed], who was also research team leader for this study. NuSirt investigates combinations of pharmaceutical agents and food compounds, intended to fight chronic diseases and to delay aging processes.

Source:
Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2015 May 6;8:227-39.

More:
Resveratrol-leucine combo boosts fat burning 13.03.2013
Leucine supplement boosts fat burning 07.02.2011

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