Use of plant cell membrane for the treatment of obesity

Abstract

Use of a composition comprising cell membrane, or hydrophobic peptides derived from said cell membrane, for the reduction of lipolytic activity, retardation of fat digestion, suppression of appetite, decrease of body weight and/or lowering of blood lipids. Satiety for fat is mainly driven from the intestine. By the contact of fat with the intestinal mucosa, various satiety peptides are released, thus suppressing appetite and food intake. A reduced rate of fat digestion could optimise the satiety for fat, through prolonged release of satiety peptides. Fat digestion can be retarded by reduction of the lipolytic activity of pancreatic lipase. The examples show that fractions of plant cell membranes (thylakoids) inhibit the lipolytic activity of pancreatic lipase.

1 - 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . A composition comprising at least one cell membrane from a chloroplast or a thylacoid, or parts thereof, for the reduction of lipolytic activity, to retard fat digestion, to increase satiety hormones, to suppress appetite, to decrease intake of food and/or to decrease body weight. 
     
     
         27 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said cell membrane or parts thereof is obtained from a plant, algae, microorganism, or being synthetic or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         28 . A composition according to  claim 27 , wherein said plant cell membrane or parts thereof is obtained from clover, rape, sugar beet, dandelion,  Arabidopsis thaliana,  maize, tobacco, sun flower, salad,  Chenopodium, Atriplex,  spinach and grasses or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         29 . A composition according to  claim 28 , wherein said cell membrane is obtained from spinach. 
     
     
         30 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said composition comprises at least the membrane spanning part of a cell membrane protein, wherein said membrane spanning part comprises hydrophobic amino acid residues. 
     
     
         31 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said composition comprises at least one cell membrane hydrophobic peptide having from about 15 to about 25 amino acid residues. 
     
     
         32 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein the composition comprises two or more hydrophobic peptides being derived from one and the same protein or different proteins. 
     
     
         33 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said hydrophobic peptide has 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 or 24 amino acid residues. 
     
     
         34 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said hydrophobic peptide is SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:2 or SEQ ID NO:3 or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         35 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said cell membrane or part thereof has a size distribution of 0.1 μm to about 5 μm. 
     
     
         36 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said hydrophobic peptide comprises from about 1 to about 50 additional amino acid residues. 
     
     
         37 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said hydrophic peptide is modified by amidation, esterification, acylation, acetylation, PEGylation or alkylation. 
     
     
         38 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said composition further comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent, excipient or buffer. 
     
     
         39 . A composition according to  claim 38 , wherein said pharmaceutical composition is granules, powders, tablets, coated tablets, (micro) capsules, syrups or emulsions. 
     
     
         40 . A composition according to any of  claim 26 , wherein said composition is a food composition. 
     
     
         41 . A composition according to  claim 40 , wherein said composition is solid, semisolid or in a liquid form. 
     
     
         42 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said composition is freeze dried, spray dried or lyophilised. 
     
     
         43 . A composition according to  claims 40 , wherein said composition is an ingredient in margarine, oil, cream, milk, cheese, brie, flour, juice, soft drink or tea product. 
     
     
         44 . A composition according to  claim 26 , wherein said composition regulates the appetite. 
     
     
         45 . A composition according to  claim 26 , for the treatment of the metabolic syndrome either as a disease or a disorder. 
     
     
         46 . A composition according to  claim 26 , for the treatment of obesity. 
     
     
         47 . A method of treating a mammal suffering from the metabolic syndrome by the composition according to  claim 26 .