薬理と治療

Abstract

Background　Mountain caviar, the fruit of Kochia Scoparia, contains saponins, including momordin Ic. It is traditionally used to treat itchy skin in China and is processed to traditional foods in specific areas in Japan. Pre–clinical studies on mountain caviar showed that it suppressed postprandial blood glucose levels in glucose–loaded rats. However, there are currently no clinical trial data on mountain caviar extract（MCE）or momordin Ic. Objective　We conducted a clinical oral glucose tolerance test（OGTT）on VegCaviarTM, MCE standardized with momordin Ic, in Japanese healthy subjects. Methods　This was a randomized, double–blind, placebo–controlled crossover trial. VegCaviarTM– P（ 100 mg）containing 2 mg of momordin Ic in a capsule was used as the active sample. We enrolled 24 healthy Japanese males and females with a fasting blood glucose level＜125 mg/dL and constant blood glucose＜200 mg/dL. All subjects were randomly allocated to an active group（n＝12）or placebo group（n＝12）. Two active or placebo capsules were taken followed by glucose loading（50 g）. Blood glucose levels were measured 0, 15, 30, 60, and 120 min after glucose loading. The maximum concentration of blood glucose（Cmax）was selected as the primary outcome. Other blood glucose parameters were set as secondary outcomes. Results　Twenty–four subjects completed the trial, and the per protocol set comprised 23 subjects after the exclusion of one who ate a meal before the test. Cmax was significantly lower in the active group than in the placebo group. No abnormalities to suggest any side effects of Veg- CaviarTM were observed. Conclusions　VegCaviarTM–P （200 mg/day）containing 4 mg of momordin Ic reduced Cmax in OGTT. VegCaviarTM and momordin Ic inhibited increases in postprandial blood glucose levels .（UMIN000049600）（Jpn Pharmacol Ther 2023；51：1763‒70）