Effect of obestatin on body weight, serum glucose and insulin levels in albino rats

Obestatin, a peptide encoded by the ghrelin precursor gene, is said to exert actions opposite to that of ghrelin. While ghrelin is said to increase appetite and decrease energy expenditure, thus causing weight gain, obestatin acts like an anorexic hormone, decreasing appetite and reducing body weight gain, besides other effects such as reducing serum insulin and glucose levels. However, these actions have been submitted to serious contests with many laboratories opposing each others' arguments. In our studies on albino rats, obestatin was administered for two different periods of time. One group received intraperitoneal obestatin for one week, while the other got it for two weeks. The control animals received the vehicle alone. It was found that obestatin brought about a reduction in the final body weight, while the control rats continued to gain weight during the period of the experiments. The more the duration of administration of the hormone, more pronounced are the results. There was a fall in the serum glucose and insulin levels in the obestatin-treated rats in comparison with the control rats. Therefore, it was concluded that the anti-obesity hormone obestatin decreases the food intake and the body weight by lessening the appetite in the experimental rats. The study may have implications for its use in obesity.