(August 19, 2015) University
of Adelaide researchers have discovered a high-fat diet may impair important
receptors located in the stomach that signal fullness.
Published today in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers from
the University’s Centre for Nutrition and Gastrointestinal Diseases (based at
the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute) investigated the
association between hot chilli pepper receptors (TRPV1) in the stomach and the
feeling of fullness, in laboratory studies.
“The stomach stretches when it is full, which activates
nerves in the stomach to tell the body that it has had enough food. We found
that this activation is regulated through hot chilli pepper or TRPV1
receptors,” says Associate Professor Amanda Page, Senior Research Fellow in the
University of Adelaide’s School of Medicine and lead author on the paper.
“It is known from previous studies that capsaicin, found in
hot chillies, reduces food intake in humans. And what we’ve discovered is that
deletion of TRPV1 receptors dampens the response of gastric nerves to stretch –
resulting in a delayed feeling of fullness and the consumption of more food.
Therefore part of the effect of capsaicin on food intake may be mediated via
the stomach.
“We also found that TRPV1 receptors can be disrupted in high
fat diet induced obesity,” she says.
Dr Stephen Kentish says these findings will inform further
studies and the development of new therapies.