Evodiamine prevents increase in body weight; may help with weigh loss

Evodiamine is a bioactive alkaloid compound in the fruit of Evodia fructus (Evodia rutaecarpa Bentham, Rutaceae), which possesses thermoregulatory, antiobesity, analgesic, and cardiovascular effects. The Chinese literature refers to Evodia fruits as a “hot nature” herb, the same category to which chili pepper belongs. However, evodiamine does not have any perceptible taste, including peppery hot taste. Therefore, it may be more useful for obesity treatment than capsaicin.

Evodiamine as diuretic

Evodiamine has been reported to have a diuretic effect which can control blood volume [1]. Diuretics are drugs that increase the rate of urine flow and sodium excretion to adjust the volume and composition of body fluids [2]. Diuretics are often abused by bulimics and bodybuilders in attempts at weight loss. Diuretics are also on WADA’s (World Anti-Doping Agency) list of prohibited substances; their use is banned both in competition and out of competition.

Evodiamine as weight loss supplement via increased energy expenditure

Antiobesity effects of evodiamine has been thought to be due to energy expenditure via uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1 is a protein that uses energy for thermogenesis rather than ATP production) thermogenesis, probably through beta3-adrenergic stimulation in brown adipose tissue, similar to the effects of capsaicin [3]. Energy expenditure contributes either to maintenance of body temperature in a cold environment or to wasted food energy (cold-induced or diet-induced thermogenesis) [3]. Both of these mechanism are due to a specific protein: the uncoupling protein-1 [4]. Ting Wang and others [5] wanted to investigated further whether antiobesity effect of evodiamine is dependent on energy expenditure via uncoupling protein-1 thermogenesis. Evodiamine showed a potent effect of preventing the increases in body weight and adiposity even in the mice with inhibited uncoupling protein-1 fed the high-fat diet. After reviewing blood parameters the data suggested improvement of leptin resistance and insulin sensitivity in the mice fed the evodiamine diet. Data also suggested that evodiamine triggered a uncoupling protein-1-independent mechanism to prevent diet-induced obesity. Therefore, evodiamine may offer a new approach to prevent diet-induced obesity, especially in animals lacking UCP1 thermogenesis including adult humans.

One study in premenopausal women showed that Evodia rutaecarpa extract (contains evodiamine) does not seem to be more effective than placebo for weight loss in subjects on the low-calorie diet [6].

Other uses

Evodiamine seems to increases reuptake of serotonin via increasing the number of serotonin transporters (5-HTT) available in the brain [7].

Evodiamine side effects and warnings

Safety, tolerance and pharmacokinetics of evodiamine have not been fully tested on either animals or humans. Evodiamine seem to inhibit testosterone production via inhibition of cAMP-associated pathway and 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity in testicular interstitial cells [8].

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References

1. Hung, Pei-Hsuan, et al. “Inhibitory effect of evodiamine on aldosterone release by Zona glomerulosa cells in male rats.” Chinese Journal of Physiology 44.2 (2001): 53-58.
2. Cadwallader, Amy B., et al. “The abuse of diuretics as performance‐enhancing drugs and masking agents in sport doping: pharmacology, toxicology and analysis.” British journal of pharmacology 161.1 (2010): 1-16.
3. Kobayashi, Yoshinori, et al. “Capsaicin-like anti-obese activities of evodiamine from fruits of Evodia rutaecarpa, a vanilloid receptor agonist.” Planta medica 67.7 (2001): 628-633.
4. Gonzalez‐Barroso, Mar, D. Ricquier, and A‐M. Cassard‐Doulcier. “The human uncoupling protein‐1 gene (UCP1): present status and perspectives in obesity research.” Obesity reviews 1.2 (2000): 61-72.
5. Wang, Ting, et al. “Evodiamine improves diet-induced obesity in a uncoupling protein-1-independent manner: involvement of antiadipogenic mechanism and extracellularly regulated kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling.” Endocrinology 149.1 (2008): 358-366.
6. Kim, Ho-Jun, et al. “Effect of Herbal Ephedra sinica and Evodia rutaecarpa on Body Composition and Resting Metabolic Rate: A Randomized, Double-blind Clinical Trial in Korean Premenopausal Women.” Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies 1.2 (2008): 128-138.
7. Hu, Y., et al. “Berberine and evodiamine influence serotonin transporter (5-HTT) expression via the 5-HTT-linked polymorphic region.” The pharmacogenomics journal 12.5 (2011): 372-378.
8. Lin, Ho, et al. “Effects of evodiamine on the secretion of testosterone in rat testicular interstitial cells.” Metabolism 48.12 (1999): 1532-1535.