Potato extract could help reduce obesity, according to a recent study at McGill University.
Researchers tested the effects of potato extract on mice, in dosages equivalent to the consumption of 30 potatoes, to see the long-term effects of eating potatoes regularly.
“We took groups of mice and used an obesity-inducing diet with a composition similar to what is consumed in North America, high in fat and sugar,” said Luis Agellon, a professor in McGill University’s School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition and one of the main researchers in the study.
After a 10-week period, Agellon said they found the mice who consumed the potato extract on the same diet weighed significantly less than the group who had not.
Potatoes are rich in polyphenols, which are anti-oxidants that prevent the absorption of fat from foods, explained Danielle Donnelly, a professor in the Plant Science department at McGill and another main researcher in the study.
Agellon said the research group predicted the potato extract would reduce weight gain in the mice but said they were “quite surprised” at just how effective it was.
Although the results were positive on the mice, Agellon said this doesn’t mean the extract is ready for humans to use just yet.
“[The extract] needs to be tested in a clinical trial and go through rigorous testing before it is safe for people,” Agellon explained.
He added that in a few years, potato extract could be used in the form of a liquid supplement to put on food.
Agellon, Donnelly, and Stan Kubow, the third researcher who took on the study, said they plan to continue their work on potatoes.
Donnelly said she hopes their experiment results can be applied to humans in the near future and that potato extract will serve as an alternative for medical treatments of obesity, which often cause severe side effects.
“There’s not too many tools out there to help people who are overweight,” Donnelly said. “I think this could be really helpful.”
