Newly Identified Compound in Red Grapes for Weight Management

A compound found in red grape seeds and skin, blueberries, and passion fruit, piceatannol is of a similar molecular structure to resveratrol.  Kee-Hong Kim, from Purdue University (Indiana, USA), and colleagues have found that piceatannol binds to insulin receptors of immature fat cells in the first stage of adipogenesis – the process in which early stage fat cells become mature fat cells, blocking insulin's ability to control cell cycles and activate genes that carry out further stages of fat cell formation. Essentially, piceatannol blocks the pathways necessary for immature fat cells to mature and grow.The study authors conclude that: “our study reveals an anti-adipogenic function of piceatannol and highlights [insulin resistance] and its downstream insulin signaling as novel targets for piceatannol in the early phase of adipogenesis.”