Saturday Dec 14, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking yeast hydrolysate may help weight loss, particularly abdominal fat in obese men and women, a study in the journal Nutrition suggests.

The study led by Eun Young Jung, Ph.D. and colleagues from Korea University shows that obese men and women taking yeast hydrolysate for 11 weeks lost more weight than those taking placebo.

In the study, obese men and women aged 20 to 55 years daily took 1 grams of yeast hydrolysate with molecular weight lower than 10 kDa for 10 weeks.  At week 6, participants in the study group had lower energy intake than those in the control group.

At week 10, the loss in body weight and body mass index was more significantly reduced in the participants taking yeast hydrolysate than the controls.  Specifically, the study participants lost 2.60 kg body weight while the controls increased 0.83 kg.  In terms of body mass index, the participants taking yeast hydrolysate lost 0.90 kg/m2 while the controls increased 0.29 kg/m2.

The study also found "The total abdominal fat area in the yeast group was significantly lower than in the control group after 10 wk of treatment."

No side effects were found associated with use of yeast hydrolysate.

Yeast hydrolysate is a commonly used food flavoring ingredient that imparts umami taste. It is considered a healthy ingredient. (David Liu, PHD)