The active principle of the marijuana plant has prompted a group of scientists to develop an experiment to certify its involvement with appetite. The study has been published in the journal Nature .
To test the mechanism that connects hunger with the sense of smell and food , the team of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Bordeaux (France), led by Giovanni Marsicano, carried out an experiment with mice focused on a specific receptor of the brain, the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), which is activated precisely by components such as hashish resin and, in this case, the active principle of marijuana (THC).
During the experiment, mice in which the CB1 receptor was blocked, and had been fasting for 24 hours, decreased their food intake without exhibiting anxiety traits. On the other hand, the mice that were stimulated by the CB1 receptor with the active principle of marijuana and that were also fasting, improved their sensitivity to odors and were very hungry.
The results shed light on the link between appetite and smell with the sensation of hunger, revealing that the olfactory circuit of CB1 could offer a starting point for the treatment of eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia.
