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

This was a 10-week randomized, double-blind trial in healthy overweight/obese women aged 20 to 50 years with regular menstrual cycles and BMI 27.5 to 40 kg/m2. Active intervention arms included EPA (N=18), alpha-lipoic acid (N=20), and EPA plus alpha-lipoic acid (N=17), all alongside a calorie-restricted balanced diet.

Participants received oral eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) at 1300 mg/day or alpha-lipoic acid at 300 mg/day for 10 weeks, either alone or in combination, while following a 30% energy-restricted diet. The EPA arm used 3 capsules daily, the alpha-lipoic acid arm used 3 capsules daily, and the combination arm used 6 capsules daily; a placebo group received matching placebo capsules under the same diet.

Overall, alpha-lipoic acid alone or combined with EPA appeared to help promote weight loss and fat-mass reduction during caloric restriction. EPA alone did not significantly increase weight loss, but it tended to blunt the fall in leptin and partly attenuate the decline in resting metabolic rate. Between-group metabolic effects were limited after adjustment, although EPA-containing groups showed a significant leptin effect (P<0.001), LDL decreased in EPA groups (P<0.05), DBP decreased in the EPA plus alpha-lipoic acid group (P<0.05), and the EPA plus alpha-lipoic acid group showed a glucose interaction (P<0.01) and a ghrelin increase (P<0.05).

The active arms were small (N=17 to 20), the intervention lasted only 10 weeks, and the population was restricted to healthy overweight/obese women, limiting generalizability. Many outcomes were assessed, but few consistent between-group differences remained after adjustment, so clinical importance and durability are uncertain.