Effect of cumin powder on body composition and lipid profile in overweight and obese women

•Cumin has a potential to increase the effect of hypo caloric diet in overweight/obese women.•This study showed beneficial effect of cumin on lipid profile.•Cumin powder in a hypo caloric diet has not additive effect on reducing fasting blood glucose.

IntroductionThis study aimed to determine the effect of cumin powder on body composition and lipid profile in overweight and obese women.Materials & methodsIn this randomized clinical trial, 88 overweight/obese women were randomly assigned into two groups. The experimental group was asked to have 3 g/d cumin powder with yogurt at two meals for 3 months. The same amount of yogurt minus cumin powder was prescribed for the control group. All patients received nutrition counseling for weight loss in a similar manner. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were determined before and after the intervention.ResultsCumin powder reduced serum levels of fasting cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL and increased HDL. Weight, BMI, waist circumference, fat mass and its percentage significantly reduced. It has no effect on FBS and fat-free mass.ConclusionCumin powder in a weight reduction diet showed improvement in anthropometric and biochemical parameters in overweight/obese women.