Chronic treatment with a stable obestatin analogue significantly alters plasma triglyceride levels but fails to influence food intake, fluid intake, body weight, or body composition in rats.

Obestatin (OB(1-23) is a 23 amino acid peptide encoded on the preproghrelin gene, originally reported to have metabolic actions related to food intake, gastric emptying and body weight. The biological instability of OB(1-23) has recently been highlighted by studies demonstrating its rapid enzymatic cleavage in a number of biological matrices. We assessed the stability of both OB(1-23) and an N-terminally PEGylated analogue (PEG-OB(1-23)) before conducting chronic in vivo studies. Peptides were incubated in rat liver homogenate and degradation monitored by LC-MS. PEG-OB(1-23) was approximately 3-times more stable than OB(1-23). Following a 14 day infusion of Sprague Dawley rats with 50 mol/kg/day of OB(1-23) or a N-terminally PEGylated analogue (PEG-OB(1-23)), we found no changes in food/fluid intake, body weight and plasma glucose or cholesterol between groups. Furthermore, morphometric liver, muscle and white adipose tissue (WAT) weights and tissue triglyceride concentrations remained unaltered between groups. However, with stabilised PEG-OB(1-23) we observed a 40% reduction in plasma triglycerides. These findings indicate that PEG-OB(1-23) is an OB(1-23) analogue with significantly enhanced stability and suggest that obestatin could play a role in modulating physiological lipid metabolism, although it does not appear to be involved in regulation of food/fluid intake, body weight or fat deposition.

In vitro bioassays for the study of endocrine-disrupting food additives and contaminants

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are capable of interfering with normal hormone homeostasis by acting on several targets and through a wide variety of mechanisms. Unwanted exposure to EDCs can lead to a wide spectrum of adverse health effects, especially when exposure is during critical windows of development. Feed and food are considered to be among the main routes of inadvertent exposure to EDCs, so there is an important need for efficient detection of EDCs in these matrices.

Property rights and competing for the affections of Demos: The Impact of the 1867 Reform Act on stock prices

The 1867 Reform Act in Britain extended the electoral franchise to the skilled but propertyless urban working classes. Using stock market data and exploiting the fact that foreign and domestic equities traded simultaneously on the London market, this paper finds that investors in British firms reacted negatively to the passage of this Act. We suggest that this finding is consistent with investors foreseeing future alterations of property rights arising from the pressure that the large newly enfranchised group would bring to bear on government policy. We also suggest that our findings appear to be more consistent with the Tory political competition explanation for the Act rather than the Whig threat-of-revolution explanation.

Review and meta-analysis of the short-term effects of a vegetable oil emulsion on food intake

Several short-term studies have investigated the effects of a vegetable oil emulsion on subsequent food intake, although findings have been inconsistent. This work aimed to review all studies, and investigate differences in study outcomes based on methodology. All known studies were identified. Data were abstracted from published studies (n = 7). Details of unpublished studies were gained from investigators/sponsors (n = 5), or were unavailable for reasons of confidentiality (n = 4). Available data were combined using meta-analyses. A combined appetite suppressant effect of the emulsion compared with control was found for test meal intake at approximately 4, 12 and 36 h post-treatment: smallest combined mean difference (random effects model) = 0.53 MJ (95% confidence interval 0.20, 0.86), P < 0.01. However, considerable heterogeneity (variability) between study results was also found (smallest I2 = 94%, P < 0.01), questioning the predictive validity of the above findings. Meta-regression suggested this heterogeneity to be related to differences in the processed nature of the product, treatment dose and in particular year of study (smallest B = 0.54, 95% confidence interval 0.06, 1.03, P = 0.04), although again heterogeneity was found. The only consistent finding was a lack of effect on food intake 4 h post-preload in studies conducted after 2003. These results suggest a small but inconsistent appetite suppressant effect of the vegetable oil emulsion. However, due to the large heterogeneity, no definitive conclusions can be drawn.