Compound that tastes bitter and appetite hormones

Experiments on mice can explain the charm of a bitter-flavored appetizer, possibly a small glass of brand-name Pernod or Ouzo, that is taken before dinner to stimulate the appetite of diners.

When the intestinal cells of experimental mice are affected by compounds with bitter taste, these compounds will act as catalysts for the intestine of mice to release an appetite hormone. The results of this study are published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , published on January 18, 2011.

Stimulate appetite with a bitter-flavored drink, before the start of dinner, always a smart choice. Common drinks with a bitter taste often contain a secret mixture of herbs and spices, and sometimes their effects drown out the inherent flavor of aperitifs. The common bitter bitter compound is quinine, often mixed with other drinks with a small dose, to create a characteristic bitter taste for drinks.

Quinine is one of a number of cellular activating compounds that sense the bitter taste in the mouth, which is considered as the first line of defense to help humans not swallow the food Contains toxins. So scientists think that eating these compounds will inhibit appetite, not trigger appetite.

However, when the mice were fed bitter-flavored compounds, the appetite hormone concentration, known as ghrelin hormone, skyrocketed, according to researchers from the University. the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. These mice then ate for more than 30 minutes, much different from the behavior of mice that had problems with the bitter taste cells in their mouths. Moreover, these experimental mice were already starved for a few hours before feeding them with pleasure, and the experimental results showed that there was a delay in the digestion of the rats. experience after tummy meals.

" Perhaps, things will be better when ghrelin levels are high, it will stimulate you to eat food and then stop, to avoid overeating ," says Inge Depoortere, research leader, and expert. physiology.

The bitter taste compounds work to prevent the contraction of the muscles in the digestive tract, helping to transport the mixture of food from the stomach to the intestine. This may be a specific mechanism that occurs in mice, since rodents have no reflex vomiting, delays in digestion can prevent the absorption of toxic compounds of the animal. rodents, while they are eating. But it may be part of an even wider phenomenon. Recent scientists have noted that bitter flavor compounds contribute to aeration, which helps to clear the airways in asthma patients.