A new study found that pterostilbene helped reduce fat buildup in mouse muscle cells, but more research is needed
A compound found naturally in blueberries, grapes, and other berries reduced fat buildup in cultured mouse muscle cells.
Researchers found that pterostilbene appeared to help muscle cells break down stored fat rather than simply preventing fat from entering the cells.
The findings are an early step and don't show that eating berries or taking pterostilbene supplements will produce the same effects in people.
Fat doesn't only accumulate under the skin. It can also build up inside skeletal muscle cells, where it may interfere with how those cells use fats and glucose. This type of fat accumulation can be associated with reduced metabolic flexibility and insulin resistance.
Researchers at Shinshu University in Japan wanted to see whether naturally occurring compounds found in foods could help address this problem. Their focus was pterostilbene, a polyphenol found in blueberries, grapes, and other berries.
The researchers were particularly interested in a protein called PPAR, which plays an important role in how cells process fatty acids. When PPAR is active, it helps promote the breakdown of fatty acids and can limit the buildup of lipids inside cells.
How the study worked
The researchers screened a collection of food-derived compounds using cultured C2C12 mouse skeletal muscle cells. They looked for compounds that could reduce fat accumulation without disrupting the cells' normal growth and development.
Pterostilbene produced the strongest reduction in fat buildup among the compounds tested. The researchers then ran additional experiments to figure out how it was working.
They found that the compound didn't appear to reduce fat by stopping fatty acids from entering the muscle cells. Instead, treated cells released more glycerol, which is a sign that stored fat was being broken down.
The researchers also found increased activity in genes involved in fatty acid oxidation, suggesting that the cells were better able to process stored fat for energy.
What the results could mean for consumers
The researchers found that pterostilbene increased the amount of PPAR protein inside the muscle cells. Rather than directly activating the protein, pterostilbene appeared to protect it from being broken down. That left more PPAR available to promote processes involved in fat metabolism.
The findings could eventually help researchers explore food-based approaches for addressing excess fat accumulation in muscle. However, there's an important catch: this was a laboratory study involving cultured mouse muscle cells, not a study of people.
That means the research doesn't establish that eating blueberries, grapes, or other foods containing pterostilbene will cause the same changes in human muscle. It also doesn't show that pterostilbene can prevent or treat obesity, type 2 diabetes, or other metabolic conditions.
More research, including studies in living organisms and eventually humans, will be needed to determine whether the effects hold up outside the laboratory and to assess the compound's effectiveness and safety.
"Our findings establish a scientific framework for developing functional foods and nutritional supplements that target muscle fat metabolism, researcher Dr. Takakazu Mitani said in a news release. However, beyond the potential of pterostilbene itself, this work provides an experimental framework for identifying other natural compounds that can stabilize the PPAR protein.
Posted: 2026-09-24 13:49:52
