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Posted on Jun 19, 2012, 6 a.m.
A drug made from the saliva of the Gila monster lizard has be shown to be effective at curbing cravings for food.
The drug Exenatide, which is used by people with type 2 diabetes to help them control their blood glucose levels is a synthetic version of a natural substance called exendin-4, which is obtained from the saliva of the Gila monster lizard. Research on rats by Assistant Professor Karolina Skibicka at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) and colleagues showed that exendin-4 significantly reduced their food intake, thus suggesting that it curbs cravings for food. As well as curbing appetite, the findings suggest that exendin-4 may be useful in the treatment of addictions as the researchers showed that the substance affects the reward and motivation regions of the brain.
Suzanne L Dickson, Rozita H Shirazi, Caroline Hansson, Filip Bergquist, Hans Nissbrandt, Karolina P Skibicka. "The glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogue, exendin-4, decreases the rewarding value of food: a new role for mesolimbic GLP-1 receptors." J Neurosci. 2012;32:4812-4820.
