Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28962621›Full record

ArticleLipids in health and disease2017

The anti-adiposity effect of bitter melon seed oil is solely attributed to its fatty acid components.

Gou-Chun Chen, Wen-Hung Chen, Kuo-Tang Tseng, Pei-Min Chao

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Lipids in health and disease, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Transcriptome and metabolome changes induced by bitter melon (Journal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2022
    Article
  5. The Role ofInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2019
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Gou-Chun ChenDepartment of Nutrition, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan.
Wen-Hung ChenAquavan Technology Co., Ltd, Taipei City, Taiwan.
Kuo-Tang TsengAquavan Technology Co., Ltd, Taipei City, Taiwan.
Pei-Min ChaoDepartment of Nutrition, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan. pmchao@mail.cmu.edu.tw.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4846-3245
China Medical University · TW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundObesity is the leading chronic disease affecting people of all ages. The objective of this study was to optimize composition of a bitter melon seed oil (BMSO) product to maximize its anti-adiposity effect.

methodsBleaching oil, saponifiables and non-saponifiables were prepared from BMSO, with α-eleostearic acid (α-ESA) content in BMSO maintained in bleaching oil and saponifiables. C57BL/6 J mice were allocated into five groups (n = 10/group) to receive diet C [30% soybean oil (SBO)], BM [25% SBO + 5% BMSO], BMS, BMNS or BMD. For the three latter diets, saponifiables (hydrolyzed fatty acids from BMSO), non-saponifiables (excluding fatty acids from BMSO) or bleaching oil (excluding pigments from BMSO), respectively, were added in amount equivalent to their content in 5% BMSO and SBO was added to bring total fat to 30%. After 14 wk., indices associated with adiposity and safety, as well as lipid metabolic signaling in white adipose tissue (WAT), were measured.

resultsThe body fat percentage of mice in group BM, BMS, BMNS, and BMD were 90 ± 26, 76 ± 21, 115 ± 30 and 95 ± 17% of that in group C. Based on body fat percentage and plasma leptin concentrations, an anti-adiposity effect was evident in groups BM, BMS and BMD (greatest effect in BMS). Histologically, inguinal fat had smaller adipocytes in groups BM, BMS and BMD (P < 0.05), but not in group BMNS, relative to group C. There were no differences among groups in blood pressure or heart rate. Moreover, Sirt1 mRNA levels in inguinal fat were significantly greater in groups BM, BMS and BMD than group C.

conclusionWe concluded that the anti-adiposity function of BMSO was solely attributed to the fatty acid fraction, with the free fatty acid form having the greatest effect.

Indexed as

Adipose TissueAdiposityAnimalsAnti-Obesity AgentsDiet, High-FatFatty AcidsGene ExpressionLinolenic AcidsLipid MetabolismMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMomordica charantiaObesityPlant OilsSaponinsAnti-Obesity Agentseleostearic acidFatty AcidsLinolenic AcidsPlant OilsSaponinsSirt1 protein, mouseSirtuin 1Soybean OilBitter melon seed oilMice C57BL/6 JPlasma leptinSirt1 mRNAThermogenic protein

Identifiers

PMID28962621
PMCPMC5622538
OpenAlexW2757431619

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.