Science shorts: Latest findings on essence of chicken, medium GI rice, curcumin and more

Combination of chicken essence and hydrolysed collagen could improve muscle and joint health in seniors – Suntory-funded RCT​

A new study has found that hydrolysed collagen supplementation reduces knee osteoarthritis-related pain in 14 days, and when taken with chicken essence, could have a protective effect on muscle and joint health.

Funded by Suntory Beverage and Food Asia, the study involved 151 individuals aged 45 to 75, where they were randomised to take either 1) hydrolysed collagen type II, 2) Brand’s Essence of Chicken with hydrolysed collagen type II, 3) glucosamine hydrocholoride, or 4) the placebo.

Writing in Nutrition Journal, ​the researchers found that participants taking Brand’s Essence of Chicken with hydrolysed collagen type II could modulate joint, muscle, and bone function.

Medium GI rice intake reduces insulin therapy in women with gestational diabetes – Thailand study​  ​

The intake of rice with a medium glycemic index (GI) has shown to reduce the need for insulin therapy among women with gestational diabetes, according to a four-week clinical trial conducted in Thailand.

Researchers from Thammasat University Hospital compared the effects of consuming rice with a medium GI of 56.9 produced by Thai company C.P. Food and polished white rice with a high GI of 80.1.

Writing in Clinical Therapeutics, ​they found that there was a significantly lower percentage of women in the medium GI rice group that required insulin therapy, at 6.3 per cent versus 22.9 per cent in the high GI rice group.

Bone / muscle health and nutrition: Prof Marlena Kruger on promising deer milk findings and plans for vegan studies​​

A leading researcher from New Zealand’s Massey University has detailed how new findings show that locally sourced Pāmu deer milk could be promising base for a healthy ageing formula, as well as revealing plans to study the impact of vegan and vegetarian diets on bone health.

Marlena Kruger, Professor in nutritional physiology and Associate Dean of Higher Degree Research at New Zealand’s Massey University, told us the above in the latest episode of Nutrachampion podcast.  

One of her most recent studies found that the supplementation of Pāmu deer milk could improve hand grip in older women with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 25. Women with BMI more than 25 and taking the deer milk also saw an improvement in their muscle mass.

Centenarians have a ‘youth-related aging pattern of the gut microbiome’: Study​

The gut microbiota of centenarians is populated by higher levels of beneficial bacteria, and lower levels of potential inflammatory bacteria, says a new study from China.

Published in Nature Aging, ​the researchers analysed the gut microbiomes of 1,575 adults aged between 20 and 117, including data from 297 centenarians.

Findings indicated that the centenarians had ‘youth’-associated signatures in their microbiome, and that these “microbiome hallmarks continue to be enhanced throughout aging”.​

Curcumin extract significantly reduces BMI, body weight, waistline in obese or diabetic adults – review​  ​

Supplementation of curcumin extract has shown to reduce body mass index (BMI), body weight, as well as the waistline more effectively than whole compounds or bioavailability-enhanced forms, according to a meta-analysis conducted by researchers from Thailand.

The benefit of curcumin extract supplementation was most significant in individuals with obesity or type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Writing in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, ​the researchers from Khon Kaen Hospital and Mahidol University recommended that curcumin supplement together with lifestyle modification “should be an option for weight reduction”.​