SantEnergy Nu is prepared from the leaves of the santa herba (Eriodictyon californicum), a member of the borage family and native to the Pacific Coast areas of Oregon, California and Mexico, explained Mibelle in a press release. The herb is reportedly rich in essential oils and polyphenols, including homoeriodictyol, eriodictyol and sterubin. It was used in traditional medicine to treat upper respiratory infections.
The ingredient is reported to be effective the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), non-enzymatic modifications of proteins or lipids after exposure to sugars.
While AGEs form naturally as we age, they can also form in the presence of excess blood sugar as a result of a carbohydrate-rich diet. Their accumulation in adipose and liver tissues can interfere with many protein functions, resulting in an unbalanced metabolism and the onset of metabolic diseases.
SantEnergy Nu is said to activate the human adenosine receptor, a protein expressed in adipose tissues which regulates lipolysis and inflammation. Caffeine also interacts with the same receptor to produce its stimulating effects.
Mibelle has sponsored a placebo-controlled, double blind, randomized clinical trial with 50 obese volunteers (average age 47.5) to substantiate the ingredient’s efficacy. Twelve weeks of supplementation with SantEnergy Nu at a daily dose of 400 mg led to body weight and body fat significantly reduced in these women, said the company.
Details for the clinical trial can be found at ClinicalTrials.gov.
Dr Torsten Grothe, Head of Food & Health for Mibelle Group, told NutraIngredients-USA that the clinical data are currently unpublished and that the company is in the process of preparing the manuscript, which would be submitted to a peer-review journal later this month.