Effects of artichoke leaf extract supplementation on metabolic parameters in women with metabolic syndrome: Influence of TCF7L2-rs7903146 and FTO-rs9939609 polymorphisms

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a multicomponent condition with a complex etiology involving genetic and environmental factors. Artichoke leaf extract (ALE) has shown favorable effects on lipid and glucose metabolism. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of ALE supplementation on metabolic parameters in women with MetS, using a nutrigenetics approach. In this double-blind randomized clinical trial, 50 women (aged 20-50years) with MetS were randomly allocated into the two groups: ALE group (received 1,800mg hydroalcoholic extract of artichoke as four tablets per day) and placebo group (received placebo consisted of corn starch, lactose, and avicel as four tablets per day) for 12weeks. The biochemical and anthropometric parameters were determined before and after the intervention. The FTO-rs9939609 and the TCF7L2-rs7903146 polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. In carriers of A allele of the FTO-rs9939609, ALE supplementation resulted in a statistically significant decrease in serum triglyceride level compared with placebo (-19.11% vs. 10.83%; p<.05), with no other significant differences between the two groups. The TCF7L2-rs7903146 polymorphism showed no interaction with response to ALE (p>.05). These findings suggest that ALE supplementation may improve serum triglyceride level in A allele genotype of FTO-rs9939609 polymorphism in women with MetS.