Python Blood Could Kickstart the Next Big Thing in Weight Loss
Gizmodo • • health
Key Points:
- Researchers from Stanford, Baylor, and the University of Colorado Boulder discovered a metabolite called para-tyramine-O-sulfate (pTOS) in Burmese pythons that significantly suppresses appetite without adverse side effects seen in current weight-loss drugs like GLP-1s.
- The team found that pTOS levels in pythons increased over a thousand-fold after large meals, and when administered to mice, it regulated feeding behavior by acting on the hypothalamus, unlike GLP-1 drugs that affect multiple organs.
- pTOS is produced by gut and liver bacteria breaking down the amino acid tyrosine, and humans also produce small amounts of it after eating, suggesting potential for developing new appetite-suppressant
