Friday July 12, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study in Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry suggests that taking L-cysteine as a dietary supplement may help cause weight loss and improve metabolic parameters.
L-Cysteine is a sulfur source that is important for the synthesis of the antioxidant glutathionine, which is a key detoxifying agent in the body.
For the study, S. Lee from Department of Food Science, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine and colleagues fed rats a normal diet supplemented with 1% or 2% L-cysteine.
The researchers found supplementation of L-cysteine decreased food intake, which is expected to help weight loss or decrease the body weight of the study rats. Additionally, L-cysteine intake decreased the triglyceride level in the blood and the liver.
L-cysteine supplementation did not significantly affect the the hepatic TBARS and glutathione (GSH) levels among the groups, which indicate the antioxidative capability. However, supplementation of 2% L-cysteine significantly increased the activities of catalase and glutathione reductase.
The results suggest that L-cysteine supplementation does not affect the concentrations of antioxidants, but the activity of antioxidant enzymes.
The researchers concluded "These results suggest that dietary L-cysteine dose-dependently affected the antioxidative enzyme activities, and the lipid levels in the serum and liver which might be related to the reduced food intake."
Cysteine is found in poultry, yogurt, egg yolks, onions, garlic, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, oats, and wheat germ. Pure L-cysteine is available over the internet as a dietary supplement.
L-cysteine may help prevent or treat acute respiratory distress syndrome, asthma, cancer, cataracts, hair loss, heart disease, toxic metal poisoning, HIV/AIDS, liver disease, Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and viral infections, according to whfoods.com.
Other sulfur compounds cystine and methionine are also important sulfur sources. (reporting by David Liu, PHD)
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