Vitamin B5 activates brown fat, aids weight loss in mice

Medical Xpress / Am. Physiological Soc. / American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology & Metabolism ^ | July 27, 2022 | Huiqiao Zhou et al

[ConservativeMind]

Pantothenate acid, also known as vitamin B5, stimulated the production of brown fat in both cell cultures and mice, a new study finds.

"We identified [pantothenate acid] as an effective [brown fat] activator that can prevent obesity and may represent a promising strategy for the clinical treatment of obesity and related metabolic diseases," the researchers wrote.

Unlike the more common white fat, brown fat burns calories to produce heat. Under particular conditions, white fat can be converted to brown fat. Scientists have been investigating the behavior of brown fat and methods of converting white fat in hope of finding treatments for obesity.

The research team selected vitamin B5 from among compounds that showed potential because of its safety and ease of access. They treated cell cultures of human tissue with vitamin B5. After six days, the cells showed a rise in a number of markers that indicate an increase in mitochondria—a part of the cell that burns calories and which brown fat has in greater quantity than white fat. Staining the tissue also demonstrated an increase in brown fat.

They then fed male mice a high-fat diet and treated them for 11 weeks with either vitamin B5 or a saline solution as a control. The vitamin B5-treated high-fat mice showed reduced fat not only overall but, specifically, less fat just under the skin and in the liver compared to those not given vitamin B5. The two groups had a comparable amount of muscle, a sign the weight loss was from reduction in fat.

In addition to fat loss, the vitamin B5-treated mice also showed significant reduction in fatty liver disease, lower blood insulin levels and improved glucose tolerance.

"[Pantothenate acid] has therapeutic potential for treating obesity and type II diabetes," researchers conclude.

[entropy12]

AT age 57, I had chest pains after eating a good meal with meat, My A1C was higher than normal and my doc told me I was borderline diabetic, I was 15 lbs overweight, in closed malls I would get strong panic attacks with heart racing and feeling faint, My right hip joint had chronic pain, my blood pressure was 140/90, and my energy levels were low. When I got home from work, I just slumped on couch and watched TV.

So after resigning from my job, my family moved to Camas, WA and we joined a cheap working man’s private golf club called Orchard Hills country club. I gradually increased my rounds to 5 rounds of 18 over a period of 1 year. It is a hilly course and I was pushing my golf card. In 3 years time every one of my health problems had disappeared. What was best about golf was it never bored me. So I did not reduce my rounds/week.

After moving to Florida, I did not join another private golf club because the weather here is too hot for 8-9 months to walk the course. So now it is treadmill and light weight lifting. Very boring compared to golf, but I only spend 25 minutes in the routine.

[matthew fuller]

Thanks for that idea, I will have to try them.

[Secret Agent Man]

That is also true.

[reformedliberal]

Sounds about right.

My husband dropped 40 pounds over a year just walking his dog. I think they did about 5 miles/day.