Good preparation is half the digestion

Allein der Anblick und Geruch von Lebensmitteln aktiviert Stoffwechselwege, die den Körper auf die Nährstoffaufnahme vorbereiten. Pixabay

In order to process ingested food efficiently, the body begins digestion as soon as it perceives the food. In the so-called cephalic phase, the production of gastric acid is stimulated in order to digest incoming food directly.

However, not only the gastrointestinal tract is important for digestion and the absorption of nutrients.

Claus Brandt and his colleagues from the research group of Max Planck director Jens Brüning, have now been able to show that during this cephalic phase, the liver is also prepared.

A group of neurons, called POMC neurons in the hypothalamic region of the brain are activated solely by smelling and seeing the food. These neurons in turn signal to the liver to start to prepare for the incoming nutrients.

“The body does not only react to the food which is absorbed but already to the sensory signals communicating that it will soon be metabolized in the organism. Thus, it can minimize disturbance in whole body homeostasis” summarizes Brandt.

Prof. Dr. Jens Brüning
Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research
Tel: +49(0)221 4726 200
E-Mail: bruening@sf.mpg.de

Claus Brandt, Hendrik Nolte, Sinika Henschke, Linda Engström Ruud, Motoharu Awazawa, Donald A. Morgan, Paula Gabel, Hans-Georg Sprenger, Martin E. Hess, Stefan Günther, Thomas Langer, Kamal Rahmouni, Henning Fenselau, Marcus Krüger, and Jens C. Brüning: Food Perception primes hepatic ER-homeostasis via Melanocortin-dependent control of mTOR-activation. Cell, 2018. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.10.015

Media Contact

Dr. Annegret Burkert Max-Planck-Institut für Stoffwechselforschung

More Information:

http://www.sf.mpg.de

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

New yttrium-hydrogen compounds discovered

Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have made a significant scientific breakthrough by discovering new yttrium-hydrogen compounds having serious implications for the research on high-pressure superconductivity. High-pressure superconductivity refers to…

New AI model detects ninety percent of lymphatic cancer cases

Medical image analysis using AI has developed rapidly in recent years. Now, one of the largest studies to date has been carried out using AI-assisted image analysis of lymphoma, cancer…

UTA preps giant particle detectors for neutrino project

Excavation of caverns part of Fermilab’s Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. With excavation work complete at the site where four gigantic particle detectors for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be…

Partners & Sponsors