CLA Isomer Affects Body Weight, Diabetes Symptoms

COLUMBUS, Ohio--The t10,c12 isomer of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) may be the one responsible for the nutrient's beneficial effect on body weight in subjects with Type II diabetes, according to Martha Belury and colleagues from Ohio State University. Their double blind trial was printed in the January issue of the Journal of Nutrition (133, 1:257S-260S, 2003) (www.nutrition.org).

In their original hypothesis, researchers suggested there would be an inverse association of CLA with body weight and levels of serum leptin (a hormone that is thought to regulate fat levels) in subjects with Type II diabetes. To test this theory, researchers randomly assigned 21 subjects to receive either a supplement containing mixed CLA isomers or one containing safflower oil, which was used as the control.

After eight weeks on this regimen, results indicated that plasma levels of the t10,c12 CLA isomer--but not the c9,t11 isomer--were inversely associated with body weight and serum leptin levels. Researchers concluded their findings "strongly suggest that the t10,c12 CLA isomer may be the bioactive isomer of CLA to influence the body weight changes observed in subjects with Type II diabetes."

They added additional study will be needed to determine if a causal relationship exists between the specific isomers of CLA and the modulation of body weight and composition. And, they stated future research will be required to understand CLA's role in the management of Type II diabetes and other insulin-related disease--specifically, to determine the ability of the CLA isomers to influence glucose and lipid metabolism, as well as markers of insulin sensitivity.

Additional results from the study indicated CLA affected other symptoms of diabetes. Namely, the majority of those in the treatment group (nine of 11 subjects) exhibited a nearly five-fold decrease in fasting blood glucose levels compared to two subjects in the control group. And, the average weight loss in the CLA group was 3.5 pounds compared to no change in body weight in the control group.

"In previous work, we found that CLA delayed the onset of diabetes in rats," Belury said in a news piece from Ohio State University, where she is an associate professor of human nutrition. "In this study, we found that it also helped improve the management of adult-onset diabetes in humans."

This research received support from Lake Bluff, Ill.-based Pharmanutrients and Chicago-based Natural Inc., producers of CLA.

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