A blend of Curcuma longa, Moringa oleifera, and Murraya koenigii extracts elevates resting metabolic rate without changes to heart rate or blood pressure

Citation: Salter D, Murphy JM. A blend of Curcuma longa, Moringa oleifera, and Murraya koenigii extracts elevates resting metabolic rate without changes to heart rate or blood pressure. Curr Develop Nutr 2023 [in press]

Abstract:

Objective:  This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial assessed the effects of 7 days of daily botanical extract supplementation on metabolic rate, heart rate, blood pressure, and indices of mood in healthy overweight men and women.

Methods:  Sixty (30 male/30 female), healthy, overweight (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m²) volunteers, 20-39 years of age, were randomized to receive either 900 mg supplementation (A) or Placebo (PLA) daily for 7 days. Indirect calorimetry was used to assess resting metabolic rate (RMR) at baseline, prior to supplementation (T0), and at 60 (T60), 120 (T120), and 180 (T180) minutes after supplementation on both days 1 and 7. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were also measured on days 1 and 7 at each time point (T0, T60, T120, and T180) while the validated short form of the Profile of Mood States Questionnaire (POMS-SF) was utilized to assess mood on day 1 and day 7.

Results: Repeated measure ANOVA indicated a significant main effect of time (p<0.001) on day 1 and significant main effects of time (p=0.017) and group (p=0.038) on day 7.  On day 1, Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise comparisons demonstrated a significant (p<0.05) elevation of RMR in Group A at T120 and T180 relative to T0 values, whereas no significant changes were seen in PLA. On day 7, between group comparisons indicated supplementation significantly elevated RMR over PLA measures at T60 (p=0.028), T120 (p=0.005) and T180 (p=0.004).  Despite elevations to RMR measurements in the supplemented group, there were no significant increases in HR or BP at any measured time point. Indices of mood state appeared to improve over 7 days in the supplemented group, as POMS-SF scores were significantly higher (p=0.010) on day 7 over those reported by PLA.

Conclusions:  This proof-of-concept clinical trial demonstrated significant increases in RMR in healthy overweight men and women consuming daily herbal supplementation for 7 days relative to those RMR changes measured in a matched placebo group. The increased RMR occurred without concomitant alterations in heart rate or blood pressure and was accompanied by an improved measure of mood.