Is White Kidney Bean Extract Safe?
Phaseolamine is an extract of the white kidney bean. Phaseolamine is marketed under several brand names as a “starch blocker,” a supplement intended to cause weight loss by inhibiting α-amylase (alpha-amylase), a digestive enzyme that breaks complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. Many plants produce α-amylase inhibitors in their seeds where they function as insecticides or repellents. For example, wheat presents albumin fractions with multiple proteins adapted to inhibit several types of α-amylase. For this reason, the safety of starch blocking extracts as a dietary supplement was controversial.
