MILAN – The husks and seeds of coffee beans contain phenolic compounds that are useful in the fight against obesity and type 2 diabetes, scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA) found out in a study.
According to a MedicalXpress press release, when mouse fat cells were treated with husk extracts, the phenolic compounds protocatechic acid and gallic acid reduced inflammatory processes, as well as improved insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake. These substances were not toxic to the body.
In the presence of inflammation associated with obesity, two types of cells – macrophages and adipocytes – contribute to oxidative stress and impaired glucose uptake, which worsens the patient’s condition.
Scientists cultivated both types of cells together to track how they interact with each other. The cultures were treated with two extracts and five pure phenolic compounds
It turned out that protocatechuic and gallic acids block the accumulation of white fat in adipocytes through stimulation of lipolysis. At the same time, brown adipose tissue cells are formed, which produce heat by burning fat.
With the growth of adipocytes, macrophages begin to secrete inflammatory factors and reduce the number of mitochondria in fat cells, blocking lipolysis. Phenols stop the effect of immune cells on adipocytes.
