A new study examines the role of palmitic acid and oleic acid - among the main fatty acids in the diet - in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, a chronic condition associated with high morbidity and mortality worldwide. The study, published in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism (Cell Press), is led by teams from the CIBER Area for Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM) at the University of Barcelona.
"Palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid widely found in foods, is associated with impaired insulin sensitivity, whereas oleic acid, abundant in olive oil, may have a protective effect against these metabolic disorders," says Professor Manuel Vázquez-Carrera, from the UB's Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, the UB Institute of Biomedicine (IBUB), the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD) and CIBERDEM.
Also contributing to the study are experts Ricardo Rodríguez-Calvo, a researcher at CIBERDEM at the Pere Virgili Institute for Health Research (IISPV); Marta Tajes, a researcher at the CIBER Area for Cardiovascular Diseases (CIBERCV) at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), and Walter Wahli, from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland).
