Aker BioMarine, headquartered in Oslo, Norway, has new data from a pilot study on krill published in Lipids in Health and Disease by Momentum Pharma Services GmbH in Germany and two Italian research groups. The team used a powdered krill (Superba from Aker) that may be suitable for use in in tablets.

The 24-week study involved 11 obese men with an average BMI of 32.3. Five participants took four grams of krill per day, and six did not take any supplementation. The treatment group ended up with increased levels of DHA and EPA in their blood, a 59–84% decrease in anandamide levels (often elevated in obese individuals),and a 20.6-22.5% decrease in triglyceride levels. While body weight didn’t decrease, the krill group experienced a decrease in waist/hip ratio and visceral fat/skeletal muscle mass ratio at the end of the study.

Aker stated that the development of a powder version of Superba is ongoing, though no commercial launch date has been set.

In a separate clinical study, krill oil (Superba) benefitted blood lipid levels. The double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved a group of 300 people who were split into five subgroups. Individuals took either a placebo or one of four daily doses of krill (0.5, 1, 2 or 4 grams). In the end, krill lowered triglyceride levels without raising LDL cholesterol in the study participants. Before the study, all individuals had high (or borderline high) triglyceride levels.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, Auigust 2013, online 6/17/13