Effects of α‐lipoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid in overweight and obese women during weight loss

Design: Parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Participants: women aged 20–50 years, BMI 27.5–40 kg/m^2, regular menstrual cycles, weight stable within ±3 kg for 3 months, generally healthy. 103 enrolled; 97 started; 77 completed. Duration: 10 weeks. All groups followed an energy-restricted diet (55% carbs, 30% fat, 15% protein).

Control: 6 capsules/day (3 placebo-I [alpha-lipoic acid? no, placebo-I] + 3 placebo-II) taken as 2 capsules before breakfast, lunch and dinner; duration 10 weeks. EPA group: 1300 mg/day EPA via 3 capsules of EPA-80 (each capsule: 433.3 mg EPA + 13.8 mg DHA) + 3 placebo-II capsules; 6 capsules/day; 2 before each meal; duration 10 weeks. Alpha-lipoic acid group: 300 mg/day α-lipoic acid from 3 capsules (100 mg each) + 3 placebo-I capsules; 6 capsules/day; 2 before each meal; duration 10 weeks. EPA + α-lipoic acid group: 1300 mg/day EPA (3 capsules) plus 300 mg/day α-lipoic acid (3 capsules); 6 capsules/day; 2 before each meal; duration 10 weeks.

α-Lipoic acid at 300 mg/day, alone or with EPA, plus energy restriction, promoted greater weight loss and fat-mass reduction than control. EPA alone did not reduce body weight but modestly reduced waist-hip ratio and helped prevent the fall in resting metabolic rate. EPA+ALA did not enhance weight loss beyond ALA alone but showed larger glucose changes during OGTT; leptin decreased in most groups, with EPA attenuating this decline; after correcting for multiple comparisons, leptin change remained significantly different between groups. Conclusion: 300 mg/day ALA with energy restriction may help weight and fat-mass loss in overweight/obese women; EPA may support weight maintenance by reducing leptin decline; longer trials are needed for confirmation.

Small per-arm sample size; short duration (10 weeks); no weight-maintenance period; some missing blood data; results may be influenced by adherence to the hypocaloric diet.