Coffee polyphenols may suppress body fat accumulation

A research paper just published in the American Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism adds to the list of potential benefits from coffee. The authors state:

"The prevalence of obesity is increasing globally, and obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We investigated the effects of coffee polyphenols (CPP), which are abundant in coffee and consumed worldwide, on diet-induced body fat accumulation."

They fed the animal subjects either a control diet, a high-fat diet, or a high-fat diet supplemented with 0.5% to 1.0% CPP for 2 to 15 weeks. What did the data show?

"Supplementation with CPP significantly reduced body weight gain, abdominal and liver fat accumulation, and infiltration of macrophages [inflammatory white blood cells] into adipose tissues. Energy expenditure evaluated by indirect calorimetry was significantly increased in CPP-fed mice."

The authors delineated the details of the genetic expression and molecular signaling elicited by coffee polyphenols, concluding:

"These findings indicate that CPP enhances energy metabolism and reduces lipogenesis by downregulating SREBP-1c and related molecules, which leads to the suppression of body fat accumulation."