Photo: Josiah Mackenzie
According to a report by Bloomberg, a handful of Nestlé SA scientists are working on developing a fat-burning drink. Nestlé says it has identified how an enzyme – AMPK, or AMP-activated protein kinase – that regulates the metabolism can be stimulated by a compound called C13, a potential first step in developing a way to mimic the fat-burning effect of exercise. The findings were published in the science journal Chemistry & Biology in July.
Eight scientists at the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences in Lausanne, Switzerland, are apparently looking for natural substances that can act as triggers for this effect.
The goal is to develop a nutritional product that mimics or enhances the effect of exercise for people with limited mobility due to old age, diabetes or obesity.
AMPK’s role is crucial “as energy is needed for all the key physiological processes in the body, from secreting a hormone to moving a muscle and even brain function,” Nestlé said in a statement disclosing its research on the enzyme.
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