Study Suggests Brown Adipose Tissue Involved in Increased Energy Expenditure after Capsinoids Ingestion

Ajinomoto Co., Inc. and a group led by professor Masayuki Saito of Tenshi College in Sapporo, Japan have found that a single ingestion of capsinoids, a sweet chili pepper extract, appears to increase energy expenditure, especially in people with a high level of activity in brown adipose tissue. The research results were presented at the XI International Congress on Obesity 2010 (ICO 2010) on July 13 in Stockholm, Sweden.

The finding may have implications for controlling obesity, which is affected by the activation of brown adipose tissue according to recent studies.

Previous research with animals such as mice has shown that brown adipose tissue is involved in the regulation of energy expenditure and changes in body-fat levels. Brown adipose tissue in humans and several types of animals is mainly located around the neck and large blood vessels of the thorax. Fat is broken down in the mitochondria of brown adipose tissue cells to generate body heat. Although brown adipose tissue exists to some degree in human infants, the once-conventional view was that the tissue gradually deteriorates and is barely detectable in adults, with virtually no physiological role. In recent years, however, the group led by professor Saito has used PET imaging1 to confirm that brown adipose tissue is present in adults...