Efficacy and safety of Citrus sudachi peel in obese adults: A randomized, double-blind, pilot study | Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer Open Menu Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Home Food Science Publisher Functional Food Center Current Archives About About the Journal Aims and Scope Contact Editing Services Editorial Team Express Peer Review Graphical Abstract Journal Insights Privacy Statement Submissions Announcements Search Search Register Login Home / Archives / Vol. 4 No. 7 (2014): July 2014 / Research Articles Efficacy and safety of Citrus sudachi peel in obese adults: A randomized, double-blind, pilot study Authors Masashi Akaike Department of Medical Education, The University of Tokushima, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Ken-ichi Aihara Department of Medicine and Bioregulatroy Sciences, The University of Tokushima, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Hiroaki Yanagawa Clinical Trial Center for Developmental Therapeutics, Tokushima University Hospital, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Takashi Iwase Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tokushima University Hospital, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Sumiko Yoshida Department of Medicine and Bioregulatroy Sciences, Tokushima University Hospital, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Chiho Sato Clinical Trial Center for Developmental Therapeutics, Tokushima University Hospital, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Tomoka Saijo Clinical Trial Center for Developmental Therapeutics, Tokushima University Hospital, 3-18-15, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Hiroaki Mikasa Support Center for Medical Education, School of Medicine, The University of Tokushima, 3-18-15, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Yoshizaki Kashiwada Department of Natural Medicines, The University of Tokushima, 3-18-15, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Yoshihisa Takaishi Department of Natural Medicines, The University of Tokushima, 3-18-15, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Koichiro Tsuchiya Department of Medical Pharmacology, The University of Tokushima, 3-18-15, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Toshiaki Tamaki Department of Pharmacology, The University of Tokushima, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 3-18-15, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Toshio Matsumoto Department of Medicine and Bioregulatroy Sciences, The University of Tokushima, 3-18-15, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 Masataka Sata Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokushima, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 3-18-15, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i7.5 Abstract Objective: This study was undertaken to explore the efficacy and safety of Citrus sudachi peel for metabolic risk factors in obese male and female adults. Background: Citrus sudachi Hort. ex Shirai (Rutaceae), called “sudachi”, is a small, round, green citrus fruit that is mainly cultivated in Tokushima Prefecture in Japan. Our group reported that Citrus sudachi peel powder improved glucose tolerance and dyslipidemia in Zucher-fatty rats and reduced hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia in GK diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 40 participants with abdominal obesity and metabolic risk factors including hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance and elevated triglyceride levels. Participants were randomized to receive either tablets that contained 1.3 g dried Citrus sudachi peel powder or placebo tablets for 12 weeks. The sudachi peel group included 14 males and 5 females with a mean age of 54.5 years, and the placebo group included 18 males and 2 females with a mean age of 51.9 years.  Results: Physical status including body weight, waist circumference and blood pressure and laboratory markers including metabolic parameters were not different at any observation point between the two groups. However, among participants with serum triglyceride levels of more than 120 mg/dl, body weight, waist circumference and serum triglyceride levels were significantly decreased at several observation points after the start of treatment in the sudachi peel group but not in the placebo group. No serious adverse events were observed in the sudachi peel group.  Conclusions: Citrus sudachi peel has the potential effect to safely improve abdominal obesity and lower serum levels of TG in obese individuals with hypertriglyceridemia. A large-scale randomized, double-blind clinical study targeting subjects with both abdominal obesity and high TG levels is needed to confirm the metabolic effects of Citrus sudachi peel. Trial registration: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR) UMIN000002682.  Accession number of the Ethics Committee for Clinical Trials of Food in Tokushima University Hospital is F5. Key words: health functional food, anti-obesity, triglyceride Downloads [Abstract] [Full Article] Published 2014-07-24 Issue Vol. 4 No. 7 (2014): July 2014 Section Research Articles License Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. 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