Johnson Pharmaceutical discover appetite suppressing hormone

A new hormone which suppresses appetite has been discovered by scientists sponsored by Johnson & Johnson.

Obestatin joins a variety of hormones which have been identified as affecting an individual’s desire to eat, including melanocortin and ghrelin. Researchers said that obestatin was discovered using evolutionary principles.

Aaron Hsueh, professor of gynaecology and obstetrics at Stanford University, said that researchers searched through the human genome for receptors for small-peptide hormones. Over 100 receptors have no known hormone partner. The search was then narrowed by looking for hormones which have been found in different species.

Obestatin was found to be tacked on to ghrelin, Mr Hsueh said that “we found that treatment with it suppresses food intake” when given to rats. “It could have potential as an appetite-suppressing drug, by injection. Or it might be possible to deliver by nasal spray.”

But others noted caution. Matthias Tschop of the University of Cincinnati said that the hormone could cause disorders in humans and that not enough research had yet been completed.

He said that “obestatin may have many other functions. For example, it could regulate physical activity”. However, he added that the discovery “was a step in the right direction.”

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