MONTREAL – Canadian researchers have discovered a type of blueberry juice that may help win the fight against fat and diabetes, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity.
The study claims juice extracted from North American lowbush blueberries, biotransformed with bacteria from the skin of the fruit, holds great promise as an anti-obesity and anti-diabetic agent.
Researchers from the University of Montreal, the Institut Armand-Frappier and the University of Moncton tested the effects of biotransformed juices compared to regular blueberry drinks on mice.
"Results of this study clearly show that biotransformed blueberry juice has strong anti-obesity and anti-diabetic potential," said lead author Dr. Pierre Haddad, a pharmacology professor at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Medicine.
Haddad said biotransformed blueberry juice decreases hyperglycemia in diabetic mice and can protect young mice from developing obesity and diabetes.
The scientists tested the effect of biotransformed blueberry juice on a group of mice prone to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and hypertension.
They found that by adding the biotransformed blueberry juice into the water of mice reduced their food intake and their body weight.
Biotransformation of the blueberry juice was achieved with a new strain of bacteria isolated from the blueberry plant called serratia vaccinii, which the researchers say increases the fruit’s antioxidant effects.
Tri Vuong, also one of the lead authors with the University of Montreal, said consumption of fermented blueberry juice gradually and significantly reduced high blood glucose levels in diabetic mice.
"After three days, our mice subjects reduced their glycemia levels by 35 per cent," he said.
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