In the quest to combat the spiraling obesity epidemic, a team of scientists believe copper may hold the key.

Long prized as a malleable, conductive metal used in cookware, electronics, jewellery and plumbing, copper has gained an increasing amount of attention in the last decade for its role in certain biological functions.

It has been known that copper is needed to form red blood cells, absorb iron, develop connective tissue and support the immune system.

But, a new study, establishes for the first time copper's role in fat metabolism.

Copper could be key to helping combat obesity, a team of scientists believe after they established for the first time that the nutrient helps to break down fat cells

Professor Chris Chang, from the University of California, Berkeley, who led the study, said: 'We find that copper is essential for breaking down fat cells so that they can be used for energy.

'It acts as a regulator. The more copper there is, the more the fat is broken down.

'We think it would be worthwhile to study whether a deficiency in this nutrient could be linked to obesity and obesity-related diseases.'

He said copper could potentially play a role in restoring a natural way to burn fat.

The nutrient is plentiful in foods including oysters and other shellfish, leafy greens, mushrooms, seeds, nuts and beans.

According to the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, an adult's estimated average dietary requirement for copper is about 700 micrograms per day.

The Food and Nutrition Board also found that only 25 per cent of the US population gets enough copper daily.

Professor Chang said: 'Copper is not something the body can make, so we need to get it through our diet.

'The typical American diet, however, doesn't include many green leafy vegetables.

'Asian diets, for example, have more foods rich in copper.'

Researchers said the nutrient acts as a regulator, the more copper there is, the more fat is broken down

But, Professor Chang cautions against ingesting copper supplements as a result of these study results.

Too much copper can lead to imbalances with other essential minerals, including zinc.

The researchers made the copper-fat link using mice with a genetic mutation that causes the accumulation of copper in the liver.

Notably, these mice have larger than average deposits of fat compared with normal mice.

The inherited condition, known as Wilson's disease, also occurs in humans and is potentially fatal if left untreated.

We find that copper is essential for breaking down fat cells so that they can be used for energy. 'It acts as a regulator. The more copper there is, the more the fat is broken down Professor Chris Chang, University of California, Berkeley

Analysis of the mice with Wilson's disease revealed that the abnormal buildup of copper was accompanied by lower than normal lipid levels in the liver compared with control groups of mice.

The researchers also found that the white adipose tissue, or white fat, of the mice with Wilson's disease had lower levels of copper compared with the control mice and correspondingly higher levels of fat deposits.

They then treated the Wilson's disease mice with isoproterenol, a beta agonist known to induce lipolysis, the breakdown of fat into fatty acids, through the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling pathway.

They noted that the mice with Wilson's disease exhibited less fat-breakdown activity compared with control mice.

The results prompted the researchers to conduct cell culture analyses to clarify the mechanism by which copper influences lipolysis.

The researchers then measured levels of copper in fat tissue.

They found that copper binds to phosphodiesterase 3, or PDE3, an enzyme that binds to cAMP, halting cAMP's ability to facilitate the breakdown of fat.

'When copper binds phosphodiesterase, it's like a brake on a brake,' said Professor Chang. 'That's why copper has a positive correlation with lipolysis.'

The nutrient is plentiful in foods including oysters and other shellfish, leafy greens, mushrooms, seeds, nuts and beans

The connection between copper and fat metabolism is not altogether surprising.

The researchers actually found hints of the link in the field of animal husbandry.

Professor Chang said: 'It had been noted in cattle that levels of copper in the feed would affect how fatty the meat was.

'This effect on fat deposits in animals was in the agricultural literature, but it hadn't been clear what the biochemical mechanisms were linking copper and fat.'

The new work builds upon prior research from Professor Chang's lab on the roles of copper and other metals in neuroscience.

Of the copper in human bodies, there are particularly high concentrations found in the brain.

Recent studies, including those led by Professor Chang, have found that copper helps brain cells communicate with each other by acting as a brake when it is time for neural signals to stop.

While Chang's initial focus was on the role of copper in neural communications, he branched out to investigations of metals in fat metabolism and other biological pathways.