Forget focusing on whether or not to add salt to your food, it seems that researchers may have found a link between black pepper and fat cells.
‘Piperine’ gives black pepper its characteristic taste and it’s this substance that a new study suggests could be used in “potential treatments for obesity-related diseases”.
The research, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found that piperine blocks the formation of new fat cells, according to UPI.com.
Using laboratory studies and computer models, the researchers found piperine interferes with the activity of genes that control the generation of fat cells.
In their latest paper, researchers Soo-Jong Um and Ji-Cheon Jeong also point towards former studies that have indicated the health benefits of piperine, including its role in reducing fat levels in the bloodstream, reports Medical News Today.
Black pepper and the black pepper plant, the paper's authors underline, have been used for centuries in traditional Eastern medicine to treat gastrointestinal distress, pain, inflammation and other disorders.