A new study recently published by Irish scientists shows that the human body “hides” a new organ – the mesentery, although its specific role is unknown, but the study leader, Professor Calvin Coffey of the University Hospital Limerick, Ireland, pointed out that this discovery not only changes the textbook, but also promises to open up a new field of science – mesenterology. A whole new field of science – mesenterology. According to the article by Professor Calvin Coffey, the mesentery is the part of the peritoneum that suspends and holds the intestinal tube in place, and is a continuous, nearly fan-shaped organ. The main physiological functions of the mesentery are to anchor the small intestine to the posterior abdominal wall, to prevent it from falling into the pelvis during standing, to maintain the morphology of the colonic gyrus, and possibly to be closely associated with intestinal peristalsis. The major tissue components of the mesentery include the surface mesothelial tissue, connective tissue network, and adipocytes. The fat of the mesentery is visceral fat. So what exactly is fat? In fact, in the body, fat cells can be divided into white fat, which stores energy, and brown fat, which emits heat, and white fat can be divided into subcutaneous fat, which is distributed under the skin, and visceral fat, which surrounds the internal organs. In fact, no matter what kind of fat has the role of protection and energy storage, but also to maintain the body temperature! Figure: Adipose tissue There are significant differences between white adipose tissue and brown adipose tissue in terms of their distribution, form and function in the body. First of all, in terms of quantity, the amount of white adipose tissue in the body is significantly higher than that of brown adipose tissue. White adipose tissue is widely distributed in the body around the subcutaneous tissue and internal organs, and its main function is to store excess energy in the body in the form of neutral fat. Under normal circumstances, excess energy is distributed in the form of fat in the subcutaneous tissue, including the subcutaneous of the limbs, buttocks and trunk, called subcutaneous fat. And if fat is stored down in the abdomen and attached to different organs or between tissues in the abdominal cavity, it is called visceral fat. Among them, visceral fat is the culprit of obesity induced cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other diseases. The brown adipose tissue is a kind of adipose tissue that has been discovered only in recent years, and it is mainly distributed in the human body between the shoulder blades, the back of the neck, the armpits, the mediastinum and around the kidneys. The amount of brown fat in the body in the process of human growth and development is constantly changing, the proportion of infancy is higher, and with the growth of age, the amount of brown fat in the body gradually decreases. In adults, the weight of brown fat in the body is generally less than 2% of body weight. It is believed that brown adipose tissue functions like a “heat producer”, when the body is stimulated by cold, brown adipose tissue starts to work, burning its own stored fat and fat from white adipose tissue, generating a lot of heat to maintain normal body temperature. Figure: brown fat and white fat staining chart It is estimated that only 50g of brown adipose tissue can burn up to 20% of the body’s resting metabolic rate, so it seems that brown adipose tissue is undoubtedly the “standard bearer” of the fat world, the “model” of fatty meat “Not only do you “give yourself up” when it’s cold, but you can also drive the white adipose tissue throughout your body to lose weight together. However, brown fat only accounts for a small percentage of body weight (reportedly about 11.6g for adult men and 12.3g for women). In those soft places within your reach, like your swimming rings, your butterfly arms, and your elephant legs …… It’s all white fat. Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital have published the results of a study that was published in the journal Nature Cell Biology. The authors of the article, Chad Cowan’s group, have developed a new system that can transform white fat cells into brown fat cells by using human stem cell screening, and they have now identified two compounds that have this effect, which will be used in the future for weight control, as well as for treating obesity-related diseases. In addition to this, researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine have also recently confirmed in a new study that flavopiridol activates thermogenesis in both white adipose and brown adipose tissue. Huanglianin is an important alkaloid that has been used in Chinese medicine for a long time. It can be extracted from plants such as Huanglian, Huangpai, and three needles. It has a significant antibacterial effect. Researchers have found that safranin can increase energy expenditure, limit weight gain, improve cold tolerance in obese mice, as well as increase the activity of brown adipose tissue. If a drug that browns white fat can be successfully developed and acted on in humans, it would be a huge step forward in the development of weight loss drugs, and while this is not to say that the drug can replace all the benefits of exercise and exercise, this latest discovery would make weight loss less of a challenge in the future. And with the reduction of body fat content, the chances of developing cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction and other cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events will be greatly reduced.