Stone Fruits May Help Fight Obesity And Diabetes

Texas Agrilife Researchers have recently found that stone fruits have bioactive compounds that may fight off obesity-related diseases. With a steady rise in obesity, this study plays a key role by offering another way to fight against the epidemic.

Diseases that can accompany obesity are among the major concerns of the study. In the article, Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, AgriLife Research food scientist, states, "Our work indicates that phenolic compounds present in these fruits have anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties in different cell lines and may also reduce the oxidation of bad cholesterol LDL which is associated to cardiovascular disease."

What is unique about this research is that the bioactive compounds found in stone fruits all work in a different way simultaneously. "Each of these stone fruits contain similar phenolic groups, but in differing proportions, so all of them are a good source of health-promoting compounds and may complement each other," according to Cisneros-Zevallos.

Cisneros-Zevallos explained the research in its entireity and where it will go next: "We are in the initial stage working with cells and it is in this stage where we see the potential that stone fruits have against the metabolic syndrome. Next, we will validate the results with animal studies using mice."