A great number of chemically diverse pancreatic
lipase (PL) inhibitors have been identified to tackle
obesity; however, very few of them have entered clinical studies. The ethanolic extract of sesame meal is a potent PL inhibitor, and its activity hinges exclusively on two
free fatty acids:
linoleic acid and
oleic acid, which were proven to reduce postprandial
triglyceride excursion in rats. Herein, to investigate the clinical efficacy of the sesame meal extract, in a crossover trial, 30 healthy volunteers were randomized to receive the sesame meal extract containing experimental food or placebo along with a high-fat meal. Treatment with the sesame meal extract significantly lowered the incremental postprandial serum
triglyceride concentration and reduced the incremental area under the curve (iAUC) by 16.8% (p-value = 0.03) compared to placebo. Significant decreases in postprandial remnant-like
lipoprotein particle
cholesterol and
low-density lipoprotein particles were also observed, whereas
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was increased. These results suggest that treatment with the sesame meal extract significantly reduced the postprandial excursion of
triglycerides and improved the lipidemic profile after high
dietary fat intake in healthy individuals, indicating the substantial potential of free
linoleic acid and
oleic acid and natural products rich in these compounds for the management of
obesity and related conditions.