Scientists Find Plant Compound Inhibits Appetite In Obesity Study

Celastrol, a chemical compound found in the roots of the "thunder god vine" and "Regel's three wingnut" plants, has shown that it can combat obesity by restoring function of a hormone called leptin, which plays a key role in the regulation of appetite by letting us know when we've had enough to eat, Nick Lavars reported for New Atlas.

Photo Insert: The 'Thunder God Vine'

Obesity can compromise the performance of this key hormone, causing the leptin receptors in the brain to malfunction and the "fullness" signals to not arrive as they should, leading the person to overeat and continue to gain weight.

These earlier experiments showed that celastrol restored leptin sensitivity in overweight mice, which corresponded with an average loss in body weight of around 10 percent in just one week.

Research has also shown, however, that celastrol can cause side effects such as high blood pressure and lethargy in mice, so work continues to pinpoint its specific weight loss mechanisms in the hope that they can be isolated and translated into advanced treatments for obesity.

Scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern have uncovered key new details through further experiments in mice. The study was published in the journal JCI Insight.

Mice administered the compound were found to have decreased activity of a protein called PERK, which lives in the same brain region as neurons called POMCs.

Previous research has shown POMCs to be associated with reduced appetite, lower blood glucose levels, and improved energy burning, and this new study showed they play a central role in how celastrol drives weight loss via the inhibition of the PERK protein.

Deleting the PERK protein from the POMC neurons was then found to mimic much of the weight loss effects of celastrol, conferring protection against diet-induced obesity in male mice, but without the adverse side effects.

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