The discovery was made by a team of biologists from Queen Mary University of London. The scientists discovered the neurohormone bombesin, which plays a key role in regulating hunger, EurekAlert reports . Bombesin is an evolutionarily ancient neurohormone. The authors of the study found that it controlled hunger in animals long before the first vertebrates appeared.
The findings are based on experiments with starfish (Asterias rubens) and other echinoderms, such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Bombesin was found to control the feeding behavior of all specimens. For example, when the hormone was administered to starfish, their food intake slowed.
The discovery sheds light on the evolutionary origins of feeding behavior in animals. "The conclusion is that this function dates back to the common ancestor of starfish, humans, and other vertebrates, and was present more than half a billion years ago," said study co-author Maurice Elphick.
The scientists now intend to develop drugs that target this new protein to combat obesity. They also plan to use the new data to study the behavior of animals that, due to the effects of global warming, are migrating to new locations in search of food.
Previously, other scientists had discovered another hormone, raptin, which is produced by the hypothalamus during sleep and has a direct effect on appetite and metabolism. The findings of both studies clearly show how little science knows about mammalian feeding behavior.
