Pentadecanoic Acid Supplementation in Young Adults with Overweight and Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Obesity and its associated comorbidities are major public health concerns for which nutrition is central to disease prevention and management. Pentadecanoic acid (C150) has the potential for beneficial effects on obesity, but supplementation has not been studied in humans. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to investigate changes in plasma C150 levels after daily supplementation for 12 wk. Additionally, the study aimed to assess safety and tolerability as well as measure potential markers of physiologic response. METHODS: This was a single-center, double-blind, randomized, controlled, 2-arm trial of 200 mg C150 or placebo daily for 12 wk in young adults with overweight or obesity. RESULTS: A total of 30 participants with a mean age of 20.0 ± 2.1 y and a mean body mass index of 33.4 ± 5.3 kg/m2 were included. In total, 20 participants received C150 supplement and 10 received placebo. The mean increase in circulating C150 for the treatment group was 1.88 µg/mL greater than that of the placebo group (P = 0.003). No significant adverse events occurred. Half of the participants in the treatment group had a posttreatment C150 level >5 µg/mL. In these individuals, there were significantly greater decreases in alanine aminotransferase (-29 U/L, P = 0.001) and aspartate aminotransferase (-6 U/L, P = 0.014), as well as a greater increase in hemoglobin (0.60 g/dL, P = 0.010), as compared with participants that did not reach a posttreatment level >5 µg/mL. CONCLUSIONS: Daily C150 supplementation increased circulating C150 levels in young adults with overweight or obesity. End-of-treatment C150 >5 µg/mL was associated with potentially relevant improvements in clinical indices, warranting further study. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT04947176.