Scientists find natural way to check greed

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British scientists have discovered an appetite suppressant which can be used to control appetite for food and stop people from eating for pleasure and restricting food intake to hunger.
Peptide hemopressin, which affects the reward part of the brain responsible for hedonistic behaviour, has been discovered by researchers from Manchester University.
The peptide acts as an appetite suppressant and can potentially be used as a diet drug without any side-effects. It could also be used to treat some aspects of alcohol, the researchers explained.
However, the researchers, who studied the effect of the peptide on mice, said that more work was needed before this peptide could be prescribed for human use.
“This is a newly discovered peptide and we do not know yet exactly where it is expressed in the brain. We also need to find out whether it has prolonged actions on body weight. Finally, while our findings are an indication of safety, this cannot be immediately extrapolated to humans. This discovery does, however, offer new insights into how the is results in increased hedonic impact so that when you do eat, food tastes better. Conbrain controls appetite, and opens new avenues by which to manipulate this brain circuitry and aid the development of anti-obesity treatments,” Dr Garron Dodd, co-author of the study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, said.
Explaining the working of appetite suppressant, Dr Dodd said the human tendency to sometimes eat for pleasure rather than hunger is controlled by the cannabinoid system in the brain — a component of the naturally-existing circuitry responsible for reward.
“The cannabinoid system affected by chemicals, called ‘agonists,’ which bind to its receptors and increase the reward from feeding,” Dr Dodd added.
“One such agonist is cannabis — it hijacks the cannabinoid system and leads to what is colloquially referred to as ‘the munchies’. Similarly, when you fast, the brain causes an increase in naturally-occurring agonists. This results in increased hedonic impact so that when you do eat, food tastes better. Conversely when ‘antagonists’ bind to the receptors of the cannabinoid system, it decreases the reward from feeding. By reducing hedonistic feeding, it is possible to help people lose weight by quenching the desire to eat.”