Camu Camu Obesity Effects and Immunity Implications

Camu Camu Obesity Effects

In 2013, scientists evaluated the effects of camu camu on obese rats. They determined that the fruit’s pulp was able to improve the biochemical profile of obesity in the test animals. Their findings led the researchers to suggest this may indicate that these berries could potentially serve as a “functional food ingredient in control of chronic diseases linked to obesity” in the rats they studied.¹

Camu camu obesity research: After scientists were able to demonstrate the health effects of polyphenol-rich berries, they decided to test its effects on obesity and metabolic disease in mice. According to a 2018 article about this study from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, scientists fed two groups of mice a sugar-rich, high-fat diet for eight weeks. One of the groups was administered camu camu extract daily. Upon completion of the experiment, “weight gain in camu camu-treated mice was 50% lower than that observed in control mice and was similar to the weight gain of mice consuming a low-sugar, low-fat diet”.²

The article went on to say that the researchers also found that camu camu “improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and reduced the concentration of blood endotoxins and metabolic inflammation” in the mice. The principal investigator on the study, Universite Laval’s Dr. Andre Marette, explained that, “All these changes were accompanied by a reshaping of the intestinal microbiota, including a blooming of A. muciniphila and a significant reduction in Lactobacillus bacteria.”³

Camu Camu Immunity Implications

A 2016 study examined how the extract of the Myrciaria dubia fruit may enhance fish’s immune response to bacteria, specifically in Nile tilapia. The researchers found that the fish who received this herbal supplement displayed a significant increase in white blood cell counts, both in blood and exudate. They also observed a burst in respiratory activity, lysosome activity, serum bactericidal activity, direct agglutination, and melanomacrophage centers count in the fish. The findings point to camu camu supplementation improving the immune response and growth in Nile Tilapia after five weeks – particularly at daily doses of 500 mg/kg.⁴

1. Nascimento, Ozanildo V, et al. Anais Da Academia Brasileira De Ciencias, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23460435. ↩

2. Universite Laval. EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/ul-afp083018.php. ↩

3. Universite Laval. EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/ul-afp083018.php. ↩

4. Yunis-Aguinaga, Jefferson, et al. “Dietary Camu Camu, Myrciaria dubia, Enhances Immunological Response in Nile Tilapia.” Fish & Shellfish Immunology, vol. 58, 2016, pp. 284–291., doi:10.1016/j.fsi.2016.08.030. ↩