site.btaBulgarian Scientists Develop Novel Bioactive Combination for Metabolic Health

A team of scientists from the Centre for Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology (CPSBB) and the Metabolomics Laboratory at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) has secured utility model protection for a newly developed combination of natural bioactive compounds - maackiain, betulinic acid, and piperine, the CPSBB said on Thursday. The development is the result of the team's research into natural compounds with potential to support metabolic health and processes associated with healthy aging.

The compounds were obtained after a five-year study through preclinical experiments using the model organism C. elegans. Extensive studies in rodents found no toxic effects under the conditions and doses tested. A clinical study involving humans is planned to validate the findings based on indicators associated with metabolic processes in the human body.

Metabolic disorders and obesity are among the most serious global health challenges.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 2.5 billion adults worldwide were overweight in 2022, while one in eight people globally was living with obesity. The prevalence of obesity has more than doubled since 1990, and analyses indicate that the trend continues to increase worldwide. The latest World Obesity Atlas 2025, an international analytical report on global trends in overweight and obesity, projects that the number of adults living with obesity will reach approximately 1.13 billion by 2030 - an increase of more than 115% compared with 2010, when the figure stood at around 524 million. The WHO also notes that approximately 35 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2024.

In this context, scientists from the CPSBB and BAS are directing their research efforts toward natural compounds that may influence these complex molecular processes, with the combination of the newly identified substances designed to produce a synergistic effect on metabolic regulation.

The researchers' main goal is the pilot market transfer of the combination in the form of a dietary supplement, followed in the longer term by the development of a medicinal product. The dietary supplement will contain standardized plant extracts based on the newly identified combination and will be intended to provide general support for metabolic processes in the human body. Production is expected to be carried out in partnership with a Bulgarian company with an established background in the dietary supplement market.

"Modern science shows that complex health conditions such as metabolic disorders require a multidisciplinary approach. Our goal is not to talk about miracle solutions, but to develop scientifically grounded approaches that go through all the necessary stages — from the laboratory to real-world application. For Bulgaria, such transfers of research developments to the market are an important step toward building an ecosystem for innovation with genuine social impact," the head of the research team, Prof. Milen Georgiev, said.

"Partnerships between scientific organizations and industry create an opportunity for Bulgaria to develop a market in the science-based products segment," Georgi Filipov added, manager of Fortex Nutraceuticals, a Bulgarian company specializing in the production of dietary supplements, with markets in Bulgaria and nearly 30 countries worldwide.