Scientists from Western University have discovered a promising compound in sweet oranges and tangerines called nobiletin that may help combat obesity and reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Their research, which was conducted on mice, suggests that this natural molecule could have significant health benefits.
In the study, mice were fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet, which typically leads to obesity and related health problems like insulin resistance and high levels of blood fats.
However, when these mice were also given nobiletin, they stayed noticeably leaner and had better metabolic health compared to mice that were fed the same unhealthy diet but without nobiletin.
This means that the mice receiving nobiletin were less likely to develop the negative effects of obesity, such as difficulty in processing insulin and higher levels of unhealthy fats in their blood.
Moreover, the researchers found that nobiletin could even reverse the symptoms of obesity in mice that were already affected.
These mice showed a reduction in insulin resistance and a decrease in plaque build-up in their arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
The scientists believe that nobiletin might be influencing how the body manages fat. Usually, a protein called AMP Kinase plays a crucial role in this process. AMP Kinase helps the body burn fats for energy and prevents the body from creating new fats.
However, the research indicated that nobiletin doesn’t work through the AMP Kinase pathway, meaning it might use a different mechanism to achieve these beneficial effects.
This finding is particularly interesting because it suggests that nobiletin could be used alongside other medications without interfering with how those drugs work.
Many drugs target the AMP Kinase pathway to treat conditions like diabetes, so knowing that nobiletin works independently of this pathway is valuable information.
While these results in mice are encouraging, the next step is to test whether nobiletin has the same effects in humans.
Human trials are needed to determine if this natural compound can help people lose weight, improve their metabolic health, and reduce the risk of diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
This research was led by Murray Huff and his team, and the study was published in the Journal of Lipid Research. As scientists continue to explore the potential of nobiletin, it may one day become a useful tool in the fight against obesity and related health conditions.
If you care about weight loss, please read studies that hop extract could reduce belly fat in overweight people, and early time-restricted eating could help lose weight.
For more information about weight loss, please see recent studies that Mediterranean diet can reduce belly fat much better, and Keto diet could help control body weight and blood sugar in diabetes.
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