Corrigendum: A natural sustained-intestinal release formulation of red chili pepper extracted capsaicinoids (Capsifen®) safely modulates energy balance and endurance performance: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1348328.].

A natural sustained-intestinal release formulation of red chili pepper extracted capsaicinoids (Capsifen®) safely modulates energy balance and endurance performance: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Introduction: Overweight and obesity are major public health concerns, with a sharp increase in prevalence over the last few decades. The primary cause is an imbalance between calorie intake and expenditure due to a rise in calorie-rich processed food and reduced physical activity. Energy balance in humans involves complex processes including thermogenesis, a crucial factor in regulating energy expenditure. Methods: In this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled three-arm three-sequence study, we investigated the efficacy of Capsifen® (CapF), a pungency-masked sustained-intestinal release formulation of red chili extract, on energy expenditure, fat oxidation, and endurance using the Quark C-PET system in healthy overweight participants, with and without exercise. In the study, 105 healthy participants were randomized to receive either placebo, CapF 100 mg/day, or CapF 200 mg/day for 28 days. Results: CapF demonstrated a dose-dependent response to increased energy expenditure and fatty acid oxidation with a concomitant reduction in body weight. Both CapF 100 and CapF 200 also increased the time to exhaustion. Discussion: These results demonstrate the plausible efficacy of CapF in energy expenditure and physical performance in otherwise healthy adults who have a high body mass index. Clinical trial registration: https://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/pmaindet2.php?EncHid=MjQzNTg=&Enc=&userName=CTRI/2018/04/013157 dated 04 October 2018.

Safety and Efficacy of Ferula asafoetida in Functional Dyspepsia: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study.

Despite the availability of various synthetic drugs for the treatment of functional dyspepsia (FD), the side effects and their cost have always created a great interest in the search for novel natural alternatives for the management of gut disorders. The present contribution reports the safety and efficacy of the kitchen spice asafoetida (Ferula asafoetida) in FD for the first time. In the double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, 43 subjects diagnosed to have moderate to severe discomforts of nonulcer FD were randomized to receive hard-shell capsules (250 mg × 2/day) of either placebo (n=22) or a food-grade formulation of asafoetida (Asafin) (n=21) for 30 days. When evaluated by a set of validated indexing tools (GSRS, GDSS, and NDI), almost 81% in the Asafin group showed significant (p < 0.01) improvement in the overall score and quality of life as compared to the placebo. At the end of the study, 66% of subjects in the Asafin group remained symptoms-free. Although the symptoms score improved significantly in both the groups (from -5.67 to -25.29 in Asafin group versus -1.55 to -6.0 in the placebo; p ≤ 0.001), the relative percentage of subjects in the Asafin group with more than 80% reduction in various symptoms were: bloating (58%), appetite (69%), postprandial fullness (74%) motion sickness (75%), and digestion (77%) as compared to less than 10% nonspecific improvement in the placebo group. All the subjects remained safe with no adverse events or variations in haematological and biochemical parameters. The study was registered at http://ctri.nic.in/ (CTRI/2018/ 01/011149).