Effects of L-BAIBA supplementation with and without grains of paradise on changes in resting metabolic rate, body composition, and cardiometabolic risk factors

Strategies to augment weight loss, fitness, and body composition are in high demand. The myokine beta-amino-isobutyric acid (BAIBA) has been shown to increase fat loss, while grains of paradise (GOP), a member of the ginger family, may aid weight loss by reducing appetite and increasing thermogenesis.

Purpose

To evaluate the impact of 56 days of supplementing with L-BAIBA or L-BAIBA + GOP (BGOP) on resting metabolic rate, body composition, perceptual indicators of mood and affect, and cardiometabolic markers in overweight and obese men and women.

Methods

Healthy men and women (43.2 ± 11.4 years, 169.4 ± 7.6 cm, 90.3 ± 15.6 kg, 31.4 ± 4.4 kg∙m-2) completed a weekly exercise program and followed a calorie-restrictive diet and were randomly assigned in a double-blind and blocked manner according to sex and DXA lean mass to consume daily either a placebo (PLA) (n=12 [11F, 1M]), 500 mg L-BAIBA (L-BAIBA: MitoBurn™, NNB Nutrition) (n=13 [9F, 4M]), or 500 mg L-BAIBA + 40 mg GOP (BGOP: CaloriBurn™, NNB Nutrition) (n=12 [8F, 4M]). After 0, 14, 28, and 56 days of supplementation, participants were evaluated for changes in body mass, body composition using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), resting metabolic rate, perceptual indicators of hunger, appetite, energy, focus, attention, and concentration using 100-mm anchored visual analog scales (VAS) and mood using the Profile of Mood States along with evaluation of selected cardiometabolic markers. Dietary intake was evaluated using 3-day dietary recalls using ASA24 throughout the study. Mixed factorial ANOVAs with repeated measures assessed the main and interaction effects. A p-value of 0.05 was used to determine statistical outcomes.

Results

No statistically significant group × time interactions (p>0.05) were found for body mass, resting metabolic rate, DXA fat mass, DXA fat-free mass, DXA % fat, VAS ratings for appetite, energy, focus, attention, and concentration, resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glucose, or lipid panel component. A significant group × time interaction (p = 0.011) for hunger VAS ratings was observed. Compared with PLA, BAIBA reported reduced hunger ratings after 14, 28, and 56 days of supplementation, while BGOP reported reduced hunger ratings after 28 days of supplementation.

Conclusion

Despite no accompanying changes in body composition, resting metabolic rate, or dietary intake, supplementation with BAIBA and BGOP reduced perceived hunger compared to PLA during the diet and exercise program.