Skip to Main Content
Skidmore College

Skidmore team earns patent for use of antioxidant compound

December 10, 2013
Jonathan Brestoff Parker ’08
Jonathan Brestoff Parker ’08

A Skidmore alumnus and professor have been awarded U.S. Patent No. 8,598,150 for use of an antioxidant compound that shows promise in the treatment of obesity and related disorders, such as type-2 diabetes.

The researchers—Jonathan R. Brestoff Parker, a 2008 graduate who is currently a trustee of the College, and Thomas H. Reynolds, associate professor of health and exercise sciences—discovered that treating obese mice with an antioxidant called MnTBAP* decreases obesity and improves type-2 diabetes.

T.H. Reynolds
T.H. Reynolds

Obese mice that received the compound lost 40 percent of their body weight. “To put that number in context, if a 300-pound obese person lost 40 percent of their body weight, they would have lost 120 pounds,” said Brestoff Parker.

The compound works by breaking down triglycerides, which are stored in excess in fat tissue of obese people. The researchers’ next step, according to Reynolds, is “to figure out how that happens. What are the cellular and molecular events that result in weight loss?” He calls this stage of drug development “the fun part of science—trying to design the next study that will yield information about how a biological system responds to a drug.”

Related News


Trey+Bourque+%E2%80%9925
A childhood coach’s words on sportsmanship at the Little League World Series continued to echo through Trey Bourque ’25’s time at Skidmore, where heart, grit, and service defined his leadership on and off the field.
Oct 17 2025

Sweet+Honey+in+the+Rock+performs+at+Zankel+Music+Center
In It 10 connects past and present, encouraging Skidmore students, staff, faculty, and community partners to reflect on our collective responsibility to learn, remember, and act.
Oct 17 2025

Keith+Murray+%E2%80%9991+in+his+mechanic+shop
Keith Murray ’91, a Skidmore history major and head mechanic at Coachworks of Saratoga, exemplifies the College’s longstanding “mind and hand” ethos.
Oct 15 2025