Dieting is unhealthy, exercise is too tiring, and there are too many pits in weight loss products. Is there no better way to lose weight? Recently, a report published in Nature News shows that the dream of foodies to lose weight by "eating" is not far away.
Researchers at Virginia Tech University found that a mitochondrial uncoupler named "BAM 15" has the function of losing weight. After taking this substance orally, mice can achieve the effect of reducing body fat even if they do not reduce their food intake and exercise, and the substance has no obvious toxic and side effects.
The discovery journey of fat burning molecules
Mitochondria are called the "power workshop" of cells, which can release the chemical energy stored in organic matter for cells to use. Decoupling agent can reduce the efficiency of mitochondria and make the energy released by oxidation dissipate only in the form of heat, thus making mitochondria consume more energy.
Decades ago, scientists considered using another decoupling agent, dinitrophenol (DNP)? Make diet pills. Obese patients can lose 2~3 kg a week by taking 300 mg DNP orally every day. However, because the effective dose and toxic dose are very close, a little carelessness will lead to accidents, so the FDA prohibits DNP from being used in human body in 1938.
However, scientific research is a process of continuous exploration. After discovering that DNP was infeasible, "stubborn" scientists began to look for other effective fat burning molecules, and BAM 15 was one of them.
Seed player of "diet pills"
BAM 15 is a lipophilic and weakly acidic mitochondrial proton. Previously, an article published by researchers in the journal Molecular Metabolism has confirmed that the substance can be used in a large dose range without obvious side effects. Therefore, in this new study, the researchers verified the efficacy, dosage and safety of BAM 15.
Most diet pills will send a signal to the body to stop eating, but this method is very easy to rebound, causing patients to eat more and gain weight faster. From the mouse experiment, BAM 15 seems to be a "clean stream", which can make people lose weight without controlling their diet.
The researchers fed the mice around with a western diet (WD). In this process, the weight of mice increased by more than 20% and the fat content increased by three times. Subsequently, the researchers divided the mice into cages, and let one group take 0. 1% BAM 15 while following the western diet, while the other group was fed miscellaneous grains as the control group.
Five weeks later, a magical scene happened. Although the two groups of mice consumed the same amount of calories, the weight of BAM 15 mice lost 15%, and all the weight lost was fat, which indicated that BAM 15 could reverse the obesity caused by diet.
Further analysis showed that the plasma triglyceride level of mice fed with BAM 15 decreased by 29%, and there were antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phenotypes in liver tissue. Within 3 weeks of treatment, BAM 15 completely reversed glucose intolerance and hyperinsulinemia caused by western diet.
Webster L. Santos, the correspondent of the report and the Center for Drug Discovery at Virginia Tech University, said, "These small molecules change the metabolism of cells and let us burn more calories without doing any exercise."
This conclusion has also been confirmed in other studies. On June 1 1, the research report published by EMBO molecular medicine pointed out that BAM 15 may be an effective drug for treating obesity and related diseases, which can prevent obesity and improve blood sugar control.
There are still problems to be solved.
However, BAM 15 is effective in mouse experiments, but its half-life is relatively short, only 1.7 hours. If it is to be taken orally by humans, the optimal half-life needs to be longer.
Santos' laboratory is adjusting the chemical structure of the compound to make it stay in the body for a longer time. At present, they have made hundreds of molecules related to this in order to find ways to improve the burning energy of the human body.
In a word, this study proves that BAM 15 is a rare mitochondrial uncoupler, which can prevent and reverse obesity without affecting food intake and muscle level in the body. This laid a foundation for further treatment and prevention of obesity and diabetes, especially nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.