Green coffee extract

A green coffee extract is an extract of unroasted, green coffee beans. Green coffee extract has been used as a weight-loss supplement and as an ingredient in other weight-loss products. Its efficacy and mechanism of action have been the subject of controversy. There is tentative evidence of benefit; however, the quality of the evidence is poor. It is sold under various proprietary brand names including Svetol, and included in weight-loss products such as CoffeeSlender, among others.

Health effects

A 2011 review found tentative evidence that green coffee extract promotes weight loss; however, the quality of the evidence was poor. This review looked at three published randomized controlled trials of green coffee extract, totaling 142 participants, and found a small effect. The review stated that more rigorous trials with longer duration were needed to assess the efficacy and safety of green coffee as a weight loss supplement.

One of the trials was retracted in Oct of 2014 as the accuracy of the data was unclear.

Adverse effects

The three clinical trials reported no adverse events; however the review noted that two participants in an unrelated non-trial study report dropped out due to adverse events including headache and urinary tract infection.

History

In April and September 2012, The Dr. Oz Show featured green coffee extract, and conducted its own non-scientific study as to its efficacy.

Svetol was developed by Berkem, a French phytochemical and plant extract company. The product was first marketed as a dietary supplement in 2002. By 2005 it was the active ingredient in CoffeeSlender, a popular weight-loss product in Norway, and the product launched in the UK the following year. At the 2006 Health Ingredients Europe conference it received the Bronze Award in the best ingredient category.

In January 2008, Naturex, an international natural ingredient manufacturer, acquired Berkem's clinically tested plant extract division, of which a prime product was Svetol, and Naturex brought Svetol to the U.S. market.

Svetol is one of the two brands of green coffee extract that is standardized to contain at least 45% chlorogenic acid. In 2013 EuroPharma added Svetol to its line, stating that it shows "some of the most impressive clinical data available". As of 2013, Svetol is the number one slimming ingredient in the U.S., and is used in 100 co-branded products in North America.

Society and culture

Controversy

Benjamin Snyder in wrote in June 2014 that the benefits of consuming green coffee bean extract have been largely disproved by studies to date, and that green coffee extract has been the subject of Federal Trade Commission action against a Florida company and the subject of Senate hearings against misleading advertising for weight loss products.

The Federal Trade Commission has charged the Florida-based manufacturers of a product called Pure Green Coffee with deceiving consumers with bogus weight loss claims. They stated that reliance on the Vinson study was deceptive since serious methodological flaws render its results unreliable.

On June 17, 2014 The Senate sub-committee on Science, and Transportation Committee held hearings to discuss weight-loss products and consumer protection. During the hearings, green coffee extract was cited often as an example of a "phony" product sold to consumers. When Dr. Oz. defended his endorsement of green coffee extract and other weight loss products on his show, Senator McCaskill stated that the “scientific community is almost monolithic against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products that you call miracles.” During the hearings, Dr. Oz stated "I actually do personally believe in the items I talk about on the show. I passionately study them. I recognize they don’t have the scientific muster to present as fact but nevertheless I would give my audience the advice I give my family all the time, and I have given my family these products. Specifically the ones you mentioned, then I’m comfortable with that part." He said he believes in them "as short-term crutches, and even has his family try them. But there's no long-term miracle pill out there without diet and exercise."

Svetol

Svetol is a proprietary standardized chlorogenic acid extract of decaffeinated green coffee beans, sold by Naturex. It is used as a weight-loss supplement and as an ingredient in other weight-loss products. Svetol has been on the market as a dietary supplement since 2002,

Svetol is a hydroalcoholic decaffeinated green coffee extract produced from coffee beans of the variety Coffea canephora robusta Pierre. The extract is spray dried and encapsulated. Svetol contains a specific chlorogenic acids profile balanced between 3-, 4-, and 5-caffeoylquinic acid, and contains 45%–50% chlorogenic acids by weight.