Kshatriya, Dushyant. In vivo effects of raspberry ketone (4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-butan-2-one) as a supplement for weight loss in mice. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-j8tt-4556
DescriptionRaspberry ketone has recently gained traction as a popular dietary supplement for weight loss. Initially approved as Generally recognized as Safe compound in 1965 as a flavor compound in small microgram quantities, it is now marketed in gram dose levels as a supplement. Previous studies report the potential of raspberry ketone to prevent accumulation of fat in vivo and increase oxidation of triglycerides in vitro. In this dissertation, we further investigate the in vivo effects of oral raspberry ketone in preventing high-fat diet induced obesity, alterations in metabolic parameters, meal microstructure, hemodynamic endpoints, behavioral endpoints, neural imaging, transcriptomic changes, and acute tissue-specific gene expression changes in response to raspberry ketone. Raspberry ketone is bioavailable and is detected in the plasma, brain, and adipose tissue within fifteen minutes of its oral dose. Daily oral treatment with a polyphenol enriched raspberry fruit extract and raspberry ketone prevented weight gain and reduced fat accumulation without affecting total caloric intake. It reduced fat accumulation and a reduction in respiratory exchange ratio. Raspberry ketone caused a dose and diet dependent change in meal microstructure with reduced meal frequency and increased meal size, along with a reduction in blood pressure and heart rate. Raspberry ketone did not affect body weight pattern in female mice despite a similar pharmacokinetic profile of raspberry ketone as male mice. Higher doses of raspberry ketone cause atrophy of adipose tissue and mortality in about 40% of the treated mice. Additionally, this subtoxic dose causes a complete loss of righting reflex for in both male and female mice. There are acute tissue-specific changes in the liver and adipose tissue, with increased expression of lipolytic and fatty acid oxidation genes, inflammatory markers, Nrf2 and its downstream targets in epididymal adipose tissue. In summary, these results contrast the potentially beneficial anti-obesity effects of raspberry ketone with its adverse effects. It calls for increased consideration in establishing dose intake levels for human consumption of raspberry ketone as a weight loss supplement.