Gut microbes are thought to comprise a community that interacts with the mammalian nervous system, also called the enteric nervous system, to stimulate the gastrointestinal tract, says Norris, the Journal of Bacteriology reports. This enteric system contains half a billion neurons, compared with 85 billion neurons in the central nervous system, according to a Rouen statement.

It is also becoming clear that gut bugs may be linked with cancer, metabolic syndrome, and thyroid disease. They may even influence mood disorders, through the action on dopamine and peptides involved in appetite. The gut bacterium, Campilobacter jejuni, has been implicated in the induction of anxiety in mice, adds Norris.

Source: IANS

A trial by Dow Wolff Cellulosics, the company behind the product, showed that volunteers who ate food containing the additive consumed 13 percent fewer calories when given a second meal two hours later. If further trials prove that it could be of benefit to dieters, the ingredient would be suitable for use in a variety of cold foods and drinks including yogurts, fruit shakes and smoothies, they said. Carsten Huettermann, the German scientist from Dow Wolff, said: “With a sense of fullness and hunger-satisfaction, people would not crave more food. In our first study, we saw that fewer calories were consumed at the following meal after eating our new product.”  Huettermann presented the findings at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

The ingredient, known as SATISFIT-LTG, is a modified version of methyl cellulose, a food additive used as a binding agent in ready meals, baked goods and other snacks for 50 years. Methyl cellulose is a white powder which dissolves in cold water and, when heated, turns into a gelatin-like material that holds ingredients together and gives foods a more desirable texture. In its normal state, the ingredient passes through the stomach very quickly and does not make the person who has eaten it feel any less hungry.

But Dow Wolff, which manufactures methyl cellulose, claims it can be modified to form a gel at body temperature, meaning it remains in the stomach for longer and is absorbed by the small intestine. Previous studies have shown that substances which turn into a gel when they reach the stomach or intestine can trigger the feeling of fullness, the scientists said. The company announced it plans to carry out further trials based on its early-stage “proof-of-concept” experiment.

Source: IANS

“Using genetic approaches, we found that increased appetite for food can actually be associated with decreased interest in novelty as well as in cocaine, and on the other hand, less interest in food can predict increased interest in cocaine,” said Marcelo O. Dietrich, postdoctoral associate at the Yale School of Medicine.

Dietrich conducted the research with Tamas L. Horvath, professor of biomedical research at the Yale School and his team, studying two sets of transgenic mice, the journal Nature Neuroscience reports. In one set, they knocked out a signalling molecule that controls hunger-promoting neurons in the hypothalamus, which regulates vital functions such as body temperature, hunger, thirst fatigue and sleep, according to an Yale statement. 

In the other set, they interfered with the same neurons by eliminating them selectively during development using diphtheria toxin. The mice were given various non-invasive tests that measured how they respond to novelty, and anxiety, and how they react to cocaine.

“We found that animals that have less interest in food are more interested in novelty-seeking behaviours and drugs like cocaine,” said Horvath. “This suggests that there may be individuals with increased drive of the reward circuitry, but who are still lean.” ”This is a complex trait that arises from the activity of the basic feeding circuits during development, which then impacts the adult response to drugs and novelty in the environment,” added Horvath.

Horvath and his team argue that the hypothalamus, is key to the development of higher brain functions. ”These hunger-promoting neurons are critically important during development to establish the set point of higher brain functions, and their impaired function may be the underlying cause for altered motivated and cognitive behaviours,” he said. 

Source: IANS