Influence of the gut microbiota on eating behaviour

Amandine Everard's team demonstrated a causal link between the intestinal microbiota, and more precisely a phenolic metabolite produced by it, and compulsive eating behaviours.

Eating disorders, including compulsive eating disorders and binge eating, are highly prevalent worldwide, reaching almost 8%, and represent a major challenge for public health. To date few treatments are available to address these eating disorders. 

The group of Amandine Everard (WEL Research Institute - UCLouvain) identified a causal role for the gut microbiota in compulsive eating behaviours. The group demonstrated that lean mice transplanted with gut microbes from obese donors showed excessively high motivation for a food reward. Moreover, they identified a phenolic metabolite produced by gut microbes, as potential mediator in the effect on food reward. The identification of this signaling mechanism paves the way for the development of novel therapeutic approaches to adress compulsive eating disorders.

Summary in video.

Reference : de Wouters d’Oplinter et al (2023) Microbiome, 11, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-023-01526-w 

Photo by Mahdi Chaghari on Unsplash