Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Technologia Alimentaria

Background. Many studies have examined the effect of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on cardio-metabolic parameters, but their findings have been inconsistent. However, only a few have explored the impact of CLA supplementation on adipokine levels. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of CLA supplemen­tation on glucose, insulin, lipid, and adipokine levels in overweight and obese women.
Material and methods. 74 overweight or obese women were recruited and randomly assigned to either the CLA or control group. The intervention group received six CLA capsules daily (each containing 0.5 g of an 80% 50:50 mixture of cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12 isomers) for 12 weeks, and the control group re­ceived sunflower oil capsules for the same 12-week duration. Fasting glucose and insulin levels, lipid profiles, adiponectin, apelin, ghrelin, leptin, omentin, resistin, and visfatin concentrations, as well as a homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), were measured before and after the intervention period.
Results. The CLA intervention significantly decreased leptin levels (p = 0.034) and increased the HOMA-IR index (p = 0.041) and ghrelin concentrations (p = 0.043). No differences were observed between groups in glucose, insulin, and lipid parameters, but a significant difference was noted in visfatin levels (median [inter­quartile range]: 0.43 (–1.56; 1.76) vs. –0.39 (–1.91; 0.77) ng/ml, p = 0.046).
Conclusion. In conclusion, our results do not support the health-promoting effects of CLA supplementation in overweight and obese women. The study protocol was retrospectively registered in the Deutsche Register Klinischer Studien (DRKS) database (DRKS-ID: DRKS00010462) on 04/05/2016.