A study carried out at the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) suggests that a natural compound present in blackberries, called rutin, is capable of activating brown fat, which increases metabolism and helps with the loss of weight. Brown fat (or brown adipose tissue) is what helps burn fat.
With their distinctive sweet taste, blackberries have a host of health benefits, including lowering cholesterol levels, improving blood sugar levels, and a lower risk of cancer. Now, this study points out that the blackberry routine can also help treat obesity.
To reach this conclusion, the experts decided to investigate the metabolic effects of routine, with the goal of determining whether the compound could help with weight loss. Thus, they conducted various experiments with a group of mice genetically modified to present obesity and with another group of mice with diet-induced obesity. Both groups of mice were fed a regular diet throughout the experiment.
They found that in both sets of mice, routine activated brown adipose tissue or brown fat, leading to increased energy expenditure, better glucose homeostasis, and reduced fat.
Taking into account that brown fat is activated by cold, the researchers believe that blackberry rutin acts as a “cold mimetic” by activating specific signaling that increases the activity of a gene called UCP1 and the number of mitochondria in the fat. Brown. This consequence occurred in both diet-induced and genetic obesity mice.
“The beneficial effects of rutin on brown fat-mediated metabolic enhancement have been confirmed to have substantial interest in the potential treatment for obesity and its related diseases, such as diabetes. In line with this idea, the discovery of safe and effective activators such as brown fat is necessary to tackle obesity and its related diseases , ”explains Wan-Jin Zhu, leader of the work.
The study has been published in The FASEB Journal.
