METHODS FOR STIMULATING CONVERSION OF BODY FAT INTO MUSCLE MASS

Abstract

The present invention relates to collagen hydrolysate as an active substance for treating sarcopenia, as an active substance against the degenerative loss of muscle mass and for improving muscle power, as an active substance for reducing the age-related loss of muscle mass, and as an active substance for stimulating the conversion of body fat mass to muscle mass. The invention further relates to a method for treating sarcopenia, comprising the repeated oral administration of collagen hydrolysate to a patient.

Claims

1-20. (canceled)

21. A method for stimulating conversion of body fat mass into muscle mass in a patient, the method comprising orally administering collagen hydrolysate to the patient repeatedly.

22. The method according to claim 21, comprising orally administering a solution of the collagen hydrolysate.

23. The method according to claim 21, comprising orally administering the collagen hydrolysate to the patient in a quantity of approximately 10 to approximately 20 g per day.

24. The method according to claim 23, comprising orally administering the collagen hydrolysate to the patient in a quantity of approximately 15 g per day.

25. The method according to claim 21, wherein the patient is aged 50 years or more.

26. The method according to claim 21, wherein the collagen hydrolysate is administered in conjunction with muscle exercise.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the collagen hydrolysate is administered to the patient within two hours after the patient has performed a muscle exercise.

28. The method according to claim 26, wherein the collagen hydrolysate is to be administered to the patient immediately before a muscle exercise.

29. The method according to claim 21, wherein the collagen hydrolysate has a mean molecular weight of up to 5,000 Da.

30. The method according to claim 21, wherein the collagen hydrolysate is manufactured by the enzymatic hydrolysis of a collagen-containing starting material.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the collagen-containing starting material is selected from skin or bone of vertebrates.

32. The method according to claim 21, wherein the patient performs a muscle exercise before at least one oral administration of collagen hydrolysate.

33. The method according to claim 32, comprising orally administering the collagen hydrolysate daily and wherein the muscle exercise is repeated at least once weekly.

34. The method according to claim 32, comprising orally administering the collagen hydrolysate to the patient within two hours after a muscle exercise.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

[0034] FIG. 1 shows a bar chart relating to the fat-free body mass and the body fat mass; and

[0035] FIG. 2 shows a histogram relating to the muscle strength and sensorimotor control.

EXAMPLES

1. Selection of Subjects

[0036] The subjects were selected from among men aged over 65 years in whom, as stated by them, in the last three to four years, the muscle strength or physical capacity had significantly lessened. Pre-conditions for participation were, inter alia, that apart from the muscular weakness, no health problems existed and the subjects were able to undertake a three-month exercise programme.

[0037] Of 106 persons who were included in the narrower selection process following a telephone interview, 60 subjects were selected in whom, based on the measurement of the strength of the hand musculature with a dynamometer (Trailite from LiteExpress GmbH, Coesfeld), the existence of sarcopenia could be diagnosed. Type I sarcopenia was diagnosed if the hand strength lay more than one standard deviation below the normal value for a male reference population aged from 35 to 39 years, and type II sarcopenia was correspondingly diagnosed for a hand strength lower by more than two standard deviations.

[0038] By means of an extensive medical examination including a blood test, it was ensured that there was no chronic disease present in the subjects.

[0039] The 60 subjects of the trial were randomly distributed between two groups of 30 subjects each, i.e., a treatment group and a placebo group.

2. Muscle Exercise

[0040] Both groups performed an identical exercise programme, under supervision, over a period of 12 weeks with exercise carried out three times per week for 60 minutes each time on exercise machines (e.g., cable-and-pulley machines, weight bench, leg press, etc.) in order to load all the larger muscle groups specifically. The exercise programme was regularly tested for each subject and adapted to the individual capacity.

[0041] Subjects who missed more than 10% of the exercise units were excluded from the trial so that the number of subjects who successfully completed the trial and were taken into account in the evaluation was reduced to 26 in the treatment group and 27 in the placebo group.

3. Administration of Collagen Hydrolysate

[0042] The subjects in the treatment group took 15 g of collagen hydrolysate daily throughout the twelve-week trial period, respectively dissolved in 250 ml water. Enzymatically hydrolysed collagen from pork skin with a molecular weight in the range of 3,000 to 3,200 kDa was used. On the days with muscle exercise, the subjects were instructed to drink the solution as soon as possible and no later than one hour after the exercise unit.

[0043] Instead of collagen hydrolysate, the subjects of the placebo group were given the same quantity of silicon dioxide, also in 250 ml water. Silicon dioxide was used as it is a safe food additive, but has no influence on the metabolism.

4. The Investigated Parameters

[0044] Before and after each trial period, the body fat mass, the bone mass and the fat-free body mass of each subject was measured by means of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) using a Strator DR 2D Fan Beam (from Degen Medizintechnik, Heppenheim). Provided the body weight remains the same in each case, an increase in muscle mass can be concluded from a reduction of the fat proportion or an increase in the fat-free proportion.

[0045] As parameters for the muscle strength, the isokinetic strength of the quadriceps of the right leg was measured before and after the trial period (Con-Trex, D?bendorf, Switzerland).

[0046] The sensorimotor monitoring before and after the trial period was determined by means of a standardised one-leg stabilisation test (Posturo-med, Haider-Bioswing, Weiden). In this test, the lower the measurement value, the better is the sensorimotor control of the subject, which correlates, among other things, to muscle strength.

5. Results

[0047] The mean weight of the subjects remained substantially constant during the trial period (85.6 kg before the trial and 85.0 kg after the trial) and within the two groups there was no statistically significant weight change through the trial.

[0048] Both with an overall consideration of all the subjects (n=53) and also within the two groups (treatment group, n=26 and placebo group, n=27), however, there was a marked, i.e. statistically significant, increase in the fat-free body mass, the bone mass and the muscle strength, as well as a decrease in the fat mass and the sensorimotor control. This result is to be expected purely due to the strength training performed by all the subjects.

[0049] The evidence for the effectiveness of the collagen hydrolysate in the context of the present invention is found in the comparison of the measured parameters between the treatment group and the placebo group. In FIG. 1, the mean increase in fat-free body mass (left portion) and the decrease in body fat mass (right portion) is shown in kg in the form of a bar chart, respectively for the placebo group as the black bar and for the treatment group as the white bar. In FIG. 2, the mean increase in muscle strength in kg (left portion) and the mean decrease in the sensorimotor control in kJ (right portion) is shown, again as a black bar for the placebo group and as a white bar for the treatment group.

[0050] Both the increase in fat-free body mass, the decrease in the body fat mass and the increase in muscle strength are each significantly more marked for the treatment group than for the placebo group (p<0.05). The improvement in sensorimotor control is also better in the treatment group, although not to a statistically significant extent.

[0051] The trial therefore shows clearly that by means of the administration of collagen hydrolysate, a degenerative loss of muscle mass can be counteracted and an improvement in muscle strength can be achieved, and that collagen hydrolysate is suitable as an active substance for treating sarcopenia.