Obestatin

Obestatin is a hormone that is produced in the cells lining the stomach and small intestine of several mammals including humans; it drastically reduces appetite in mice and is expected to do the same in humans.

Research carried out at the Stanford University School of Medicine in 2005 identified the new hormone with a bioinformatics approach by computer search of the sequenced genomes of several organisms.

Obestatin is a peptide hormone - a relatively small protein. It is encoded by the same gene that also encodes ghrelin, a peptide hormone that increases appetite. The protein produced by that gene breaks into two smaller peptides, ghrelin and obestatin. The purpose of this mechanism remains unclear, however it explains earlier findings, namely that removing the ghrelin gene from mice did not significantly reduce their appetite.

Obestatin might be developed into a drug against obesity, however it would have to be delivered as a nasal spray, injection, or transdermal patch as the peptide is destroyed by stomach acids. Rights to commercial use of the hormone lie with Johnson & Johnson which sponsored the research.