Researchers are saying juice extract from North American lowbush blueberries biotransformed with bacteria from the skin of the fruit may become the latest natural health resource for people who are obese or diabetic.

Canadian scientists tested the blueberry juice on mice prone to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and hypertension, and found that it reduced their food intake and, consequently, their body weight.

“These mice were an excellent model that closely resembles obesity and obesity-linked type 2 diabetes in humans,” said senior author Dr. Pierre S. Haddad, a pharmacology professor at the Universite de Montreal Faculty of Medicine.

The researchers further explain the biotransformed blueberry juice holds great therapeutic promise because it appears to decrease hyperglycemia in diabetic mice and can protect young pre-diabetic animals from developing these debilitating metabolic conditions in the first place.