Weight Management Effects of Seaweed and Scallops Identified

The combination of omega-3 fatty acids from scallops and fucoxanthin from wakame seaweed may produce significant reductions in body weight and white adipose tissue, reveals a study by Tomoko Okada, from Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (Japan), and colleagues. Formulated into a bioactive capsule, the team found that the incorporation of wakame seaweed lipids into scallop-derived phospholipids produced an additive increase in the anti-obesity properties of these bioactive lipids individually.  Specifically, the researchers observed marked increases in uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) expression and higher levels of UCP1 mRNA in fat tissue, which they propose is linked to reductions in adipose tissue mass, leading to an encouraging antiobesity effect.   The team concludes that: “These results suggest that incorporation of [brown seaweed] into scallop-derived [lipids]…  may lead to an additive increase in the antiobesity properties of these bioactive lipids.”