Natural compound found in olives may be a treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes, showing efficacy equal to or better than approved treatments
Research presented at the American Academy of Nutrition's annual meeting, NUTRITION 2024, held in June 2024 suggests that
(OR02-02-24) Identification of a Novel Multi-target Bioactive Compound With Anti-obesity and Anti-diabetic Activities
https://nutrition2024.eventscribe.net/index.asp?presTarget=2742404
Compound from olives shows promise for treati | EurekAlert!
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1048893
Natural Compound in Olives May Help Fight Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/natural-compound-in-olives-may-help-fight-obesity-and-type-2-diabetes
'Lifestyle modifications and public health measures have had limited impact on the rise of obesity, one of the biggest risk factors for type 2 diabetes,' said Dongmin Liu, professor of nutrition at Virginia Tech in the US. 'In addition, current obesity medications on the market are ineffective at achieving sustainable weight loss, expensive and may carry long-term safety risks.'
To develop a safer, cheaper, and more convenient drug, Liu and his team first began by searching for natural compounds that act on L cells , the enteroendocrine cells responsible for secreting food-related hormones.
During the investigation, the hormones 'intestinal GLP-1' and 'peptide YY (PYY)' secreted by L cells were identified as clues. These hormones are known to stimulate satiety, prevent overeating, and regulate blood sugar levels and metabolism.
The research team conducted a screening study to find natural substances that act on satiety hormones and identified elenolic acid, a natural compound found in ripe olives and extra virgin olive oil, as a compound that promotes the secretion of GLP-1 and PYY in the intestine.
The research team believes that elenolic acid not only increases GLP-1 and PYY, but also regulates the production of agouti-related peptide, which, when in excess, leads to increased food intake and body weight, and that this may help control weight.
In fact, when the research team orally administered elenolic acid to obese diabetic mice, they found that the mice that received elenolic acid had significantly improved metabolic health compared to the obese control mice, losing weight and improving their blood sugar levels after just one week of treatment. After 4 to 5 weeks of treatment, their blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity improved to the same level as lean, healthy mice.
The research team reported that the effect of elenolic acid in improving blood sugar levels was equivalent to that of
Commenting on these results, Liu said: 'Olive-derived elenolic acid has shown promising results in improving hormone secretion and metabolism, especially in obese and diabetic conditions. This compound may contribute to the control of energy balance and metabolic health by mimicking the physiological conditions induced by diet and directly promoting the secretion of metabolic hormones in the gut.'
Unfortunately, the concentration of elenolic acid in natural olives and olive oil is very low, so it would be difficult to obtain the benefits discovered in this study by consuming olive products.
In their experiments, the research team obtained elenolic acid by breaking down a type of polyphenol called oleuropein , which made it cheaper to obtain elenolic acid than by extracting it directly from olives.
The findings of this study have been evaluated and selected by a committee of experts from the American Academy of Nutrition, but they have not yet been peer-reviewed for publication in an academic journal. Therefore, until then, the findings are considered provisional.
Liu and his research team plan to continue analyzing how elenolic acid works in the body to elucidate the mechanism by which it improves obesity and diabetes, and to confirm its safety for future clinical trials.
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