New Clinical Study: Zooca® Calanus Oil Improves Insulin Sensitivity and Metabolic Health
Zooca® Calanus® Oil plus lifestyle interventions helps the body maintain and improve stable blood sugar levels among overweight and obese subjects. The new study shows promise for improved insulin sensitivity and metabolic health.
A recent publication in Marine Drugs from Leibniz University Hannover highlights the potential of Zooca® Calanus® Oil supplementation in early-stage metabolic dysregulation. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial followed 266 adults aged 30-75 with a mean BMI of > 28 kg/m2, over a 12-week period.
Participants were divided into four intervention arms: Zooca® Calanus® Oil at 2g/day, 4g/day, 2g/day combined with a lifestyle intervention (LI), or a placebo. All participants exhibited varying degrees of insulin resistance but were otherwise healthy.
Key Highlights from the Study
Zooca® Calanus® Oil improved glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance in overweight/obese subjects who were:
- Receiving 2 g/day Zooca® Calanus® Oil combined with lifestyle intervention (LI) showed a significant reduction in HOMA index and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c)
- Receiving 4g/day Zooca® Calanus® Oil showed significant reduction in HOMA index for subjects with early-stage insulin resistance (HOMA 2.5–5.0)
How Zooca® Calanus Oil Helps regulate blood sugar
This clinical study supports previous research confirming that Zooca® Calanus® Oil helps to manage healthy glucose levels, with effects varying by dose, level of lifestyle intervention and the degree of insulin resistance (IR). In order to understand glucose homeostasis there are two important variables used to oversee the metabolic situation, particularly in overweight and obese subjects.
Glucose homeostasis — our body’s ability to regulate blood sugar — is essential for long-term metabolic health. In insulin-resistant individuals, the body’s cells become less responsive to insulin, leading to elevated blood glucose levels. If left unaddressed, this dysfunction can progress to prediabetes and ultimately to type 2 diabetes — a major public health challenge worldwide.
In this study, improvements in glucose homeostasis and the assessment of metabolic change were measured using the HOMA-Index, a widely accepted marker for insulin resistance. Other supporting parameters measured were fasting insulin and HbA1c. .
What Is the HOMA Index and Why It Matters
HOMA Index is a mathematical model for estimating Insulin Resistance (IR). The HOMA index is calculated from the product of fasting glucose and insulin values divided by a constant.
The body regulates the glucose concentration within the normal range by homeostatic mechanisms, so that when the glucose concentration rises after a meal, a simultaneous (compensatory) increase in insulin release from the pancreas takes place, causing storage of excess sugar in liver and muscles. In this way, the insulin-stimulated uptake of glucose brings down the glucose level to the normal range.
On the other hand, when glucose and insulin levels fall (e.g. during fasting end endurance exercise), glucose is released from these tissues. When dietary habits include repeatedly intake of sweets over time, the pancreas becomes exhausted and not able to compensate for the elevation in plasma glucose. In addition, persistent high glucose leads to reduced activity (down-regulation) of the insulin receptors in muscle. This condition leads to elevation in plasma glucose to a pre-diabetic condition.
HbA1c: A key indicator for Glucose Control
Glycated haemoglobin is a form of haemoglobin (red blood cells) that is chemically linked to a sugar molecule. The formation of this sugar-haemoglobin linkages indicates the presence of excessive sugar in the bloodstream and is a simple test of diabetes at elevated levels of HbA1c.
The test is evaluated over a three-month period because the average lifespan of a red blood cell is 3-4 months (normal turnover time). Healthy levels of glucose produce a certain amount of glycated haemoglobin. As the average amount of plasma glucose increases, the fraction of glycated haemoglobin increases in a predictable way and is therefore a good indicator of pre-diabetes, or of the status of diabetes.
The study, recently published from Leibniz University Hannover, confirms that HOMA index and HbA1c is improved during 12 weeks of supplementing with Zooca® Calanus® Oil. Further analysis shows that improvements in blood sugar regulation and insulin resistance are found in the treatment of 2 g CO/Day with Lifestyle Interventions.
Effects from Zooca® Calanus Oil supplement with Lifestyle Interventions (LI)
Clinically significant weight loss and enhanced insulin sensitivity is often found with improved lifestyle interventions via
- dietary modifications and/or
- increased physical activity
These interventions should be commonly applied as a normal part of the healthy aging approach; however most adults fall short of one or both of these. The combination of Zooca Calanus Oil and LI resulted in a significant decrease in the HOMA index over all insulin resistance phenotypes, likely due to the synergistic anti-inflammatory and metabolic effects.
Effectiveness depends on baseline insulin resistance levels (IR I, II and III) with a U-shaped response curve. See Figure 1.
The subjects in this group were advised to engage in regular exercise in accordance with WHO recommendations - perform at least 150–300 min/week of moderate physical activity or at least 75–150 min/per week of vigorous physical activity.
To monitor LI adherence and weekly physical activity, physical activity was monitored through self-reporting using an activity diary. Those reporting <85% of the instructed activity per week, showing strong fluctuations between weeks, or achieving <85% overall were excluded from the analysis. Diet counselling included general recommendations from national professional societies for healthier eating.
Subjects in the three other intervention arms (Zooca® Calanus® Oil at 2g/day, 4g/day, or placebo) were instructed not to alter their physical performance during the study or change their dietary habits (especially regarding the intake of Omega 3 rich foods).
On the examination day at the start and at the end of the study, subjects performed a 6 min walk test (6 MWT) to assess their fitness level. Additionally, subjects were asked to rate their level of breathlessness on a scale from 1 to 10 immediately before and after the test. Pulse and oxygen saturation were also measured before and immediately after the test using a pulse oximeter.
Importantly, no significant changes in fitness among the four group were found at the end of the study. Mild improvements in lifestyle interventions (LI) supplemented by intake of 2 g/day of Zooca® Calanus® Oil were not captured in statistically significant improvements of fitness measured by the walk test.
On the other hand, the combination of supplementation with LI resulted in a significant decrease in the HOMA index over all the IR phenotypes, probably due to the synergistic effects of Zooca® Calanus® Oil with a small lifestyle intervention. However, the underlying reason for this synergy remains to be better understood.
Effects from higher dose of Zooca® Calanus Oil – What the study Found relate to 4g/Day Calanus Oil Without Lifestyle Changes
Significant improvements in HOMA index without LI were only seen at the dose of 4 g CO/Day in subjects with a HOMA index between 2.5 and 5 (i.e. Mild IR) using an alternative analytical approach (See Figure 2). Here, it was found that only the HOMA index was improved among subjects with mild Insulin Resistance. No significant effect of this intervention was observed in subjects with unlikely/healthy IR or severe/diabetic IR.
Significant changes in insulin levels were observed for the two treatment groups in which the HOMA index was found to improve during the study.
The study confirms earlier clinical findings on metabolic health
These findings provide new clinical evidence that Zooca® Calanus® Oil can positively influence insulin sensitivity and metabolic regulation, particularly when used in the early stages of insulin resistance or being overweight. Importantly, these results confirm earlier exploratory studies suggesting that Zooca® Calanus® Oil supplementation may reduce HOMA-Index and improve insulin sensitivity in individuals at metabolic risk. The current study strengthens this emerging body of evidence for Zooca® Calanus® Oil.
Reference:
Kerlikowski F et al (2025). Calanus Oil and Lifestyle Interventions Improve Glucose Homeostasis in Obese Subjects with Insulin Resistance. Mar. Drugs23, 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/md23040139
Burhop M et al (2022). Marine Oil from C. finmarchicus Enhances Glucose Homeostasis and Liver Insulin Resistance in Obese Prediabetic Individuals. Nutrients, 14, 396. https://doi.org./10.3390/nu14020396
Brezinova M et al (2020) Exercise training induces insulin-sensitizing PAHSAs in adipose tissue of elderly women, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids, 1865 https://10.1016/j.bballp.2019.158576
Hill NR, Levy JC, Matthews DR (2013). "Expansion of the homeostasis model assessment of β-cell function and insulin resistance to enable clinical trial outcome modeling through the interactive adjustment of physiology and treatment effects: iHOMA2". Diabetes Care. 36 (8): 2324–30. doi:10.2337/dc12-0607
Cavero-Redondo I, Peleteiro B, Martínez-Vizcaíno V (2017). "Glycated haemoglobin A1c as a risk factor of cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality in diabetic and non-diabetic populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis". BMJ Open. 7 (7): e015949. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-015949
