The University of Adelaide News, 08/20/2015

University of Adelaide researchers have discovered a high–fat diet may impair important receptors located in the stomach that signal fullness. Published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers from the University’s Centre for Nutrition and Gastrointestinal Diseases (based at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute) investigated the association between hot chilli pepper receptors (TRPV1) in the stomach and the feeling of fullness, in laboratory studies. “It’s exciting that we now know more about the TRPV1 receptor pathway and that the consumption of capsaicin may be able to prevent overeating through an action on nerves in the stomach,” says Dr Kentish, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Fellow from the University of Adelaide’s School of Medicine. “The next stage of research will involve investigation of the mechanisms behind TRPV1 receptor activation with the aim of developing a more palatable therapy. “We will also do further work to determine why a high–fat diet de–sensitises TRPV1 receptors and investigate if we can reverse the damage,” he says.