A compound known as piceantannol, present in red wine, was found by researchers at Purdue University to stop fat cells from developing, a finding that may pave the way for new advances in weight loss.

Resveratrol turns into piceatannol when consumed, which was found to be effective in stopping fat cells from maturing.

Kee-Hong Kim, an assistant professor of food science, and Jung Yeon Kwon, a graduate student in Kim's laboratory, said that piceatannol would bind to the receptors of immature fat cells and block their ability to mature, according to the Daily Meal.

According to Science Daily, piceatannol is also present in different amounts in red grape seeds and skin, blueberries, passion fruit, and other fruits.

The next step in testing this finding is creating an animal model.

The hope is that piceatannol can be preserved for long enough in the blood stream to prevent fat cells from forming.

The findings of the study can be found in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

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