Exercising is good for our health, that’s okay, but there’s more to learn about the complex and varied ways physical activity can bring positive results to people. Scientists investigating the molecular details of these complex pathways made an important discovery.
Scientists have identified a modified amino acid that rises rapidly in the blood after intense exercise and travels to the brain to suppress hunger and then promote weight loss. Well what does it mean?
The effect of exercise on certain molecule levels was examined
Jonathan Long, an assistant professor of pathology at Stanford University, said: “We are all aware that exercise in general is beneficial. Sport is good for body weight and glucose control. But we wanted to look at this concept in more detail, by looking at exercise in terms of molecules and pathways. “We wanted to see what we couldn’t examine,” he says.
To that end, Long and other researchers from the University of California at Davis and Baylor School of Medicine turned to a technique called metabolomics. That means using mass spectrometry to monitor the concentration of different molecules in tissue and blood samples, and how exercise causes the levels of certain molecules to rise and fall.
It was observed that the same molecule increased in race horses.
Initially, this was used in mice that were put up for a short session on a treadmill, and scientists detected a large spike in a particular molecule in the blood after training. After analyzing blood from racehorses, the team saw an increase in this same mysterious molecule in horses after their race.
When the team chemically dissolved this molecule, two different amino acids emerged: lactate and phenylalanine. Lactate is what produces the burning sensation as we work our muscles to exhaustion, while phenylalanine is an animo acid that acts as a building block for proteins. When these two amino acids are catalyzed by a protein called CNDP2, they form a molecule called Lac-Phe.
Obesity may come to an end!
The Lac-Phe molecule was used in another experiment on obese rats, and the results in obese rats were dazzling because when the molecule was injected after they had exercised, the rats lost their appetite.
If these researches can be developed to the level of a drug that can be used in humans, obesity may come to an end. At least that’s what researchers think. What are you thinking? Please do not forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
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