{"data":{"id":2246,"lang":"en","title":"UC Berkeley Compound TOFA Burns Fat Without Muscle Loss, Boosts GLP-1 Drugs","summary":"A UC Berkeley study found the compound TOFA boosts fat-burning by up to 18% in mice, preserving muscle mass and enhancing GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.","category":"science","category_label":"Science","published_at":"2026-08-24T14:01:51Z","updated_at":"2026-08-24T14:01:51Z","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/2246-uc-berkeley-compound-tofa-burns-fat-without-muscle-loss-boosts-glp-1-drugs","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/2246?lang=en","markdown_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/2246.md?lang=en","image_url":"https://news.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260820_Naar-Lab-5841_BN.jpg","word_count":202,"reading_time_minutes":2,"sources":[{"url":"https://news.berkeley.edu/2026/08/21/a-promising-new-weight-loss-and-diabetes-treatment-helps-burn-fat-while-keeping-muscle/","domain":"news.berkeley.edu"},{"url":"https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260823014953.htm","domain":"sciencedaily.com"}],"translation":{"lang":"cs","id":2319,"title":"Berkeley: Sloučenina TOFA spaluje tuk bez úbytku svalů a posiluje účinek GLP-1 léků","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/2319-berkeley-sloucenina-tofa-spaluje-tuk-bez-ubytku-svalu-a-posiluje-ucinek-glp-1","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/2319?lang=cs"},"content":"Researchers at UC Berkeley, led by Professor Anders Näär, have revived a decades-old molecule called TOFA (5-tetradecyloxy-2-furoic acid) as a promising obesity and diabetes treatment that works by burning more energy rather than suppressing appetite. In mice, TOFA increased cellular energy expenditure by up to 18% with no change in activity levels, and obese mice lost fat while keeping their lean muscle mass intact — a key advantage over GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which often cause muscle loss alongside fat loss.\n\nFirst discovered in the 1970s, TOFA blocks an enzyme that drives cholesterol and triglyceride production while also activating PPARα and PPARδ receptors, switching on genes that help cells take up and burn fat. The study, published in Science Advances, found TOFA also improved insulin sensitivity, glucose control, and markers of fatty liver disease in mice.\n\nNotably, combining TOFA with GLP-1 drugs produced stronger metabolic results than either treatment alone, suggesting it could complement rather than replace the current generation of weight-loss medications. \"Body weight responds to two levers: taking in fewer calories, or spending more energy. GLP-1s work almost entirely on the first, so we went after the second,\" Näär said. The compound has not yet been tested in humans."}}