Olfaction Under Metabolic Influences

Abstract

Recently published work and emerging research efforts have suggested that the olfactory system is intimately linked with the endocrine systems that regulate or modify energy balance. Although much attention has been focused on the parallels between taste transduction and neuroendocrine controls of digestion due to the novel discovery of taste receptors and molecular components shared by the tongue and gut, the equivalent body of knowledge that has accumulated for the olfactory system, has largely been overlooked. During regular cycles of food intake or disorders of endocrine function, olfaction is modulated in response to changing levels of various molecules, such as ghrelin, orexins, neuropeptide Y, insulin, leptin, and cholecystokinin. In view of the worldwide health concern regarding the rising incidence of diabetes, obesity, and related metabolic disorders, we present a comprehensive review that addresses the current knowledge of hormonal modulation of olfactory perception and how disruption of hormonal signaling in the olfactory system can affect energy homeostasis.

Association between diabetes mellitus and olfactory dysfunction: current perspectives and future directions

“…Olfactory discrimination may also vary with gender and pregnancy (e.g. pregnant women commonly become oversensitive to smells), and feeding states (sensitivity is greater with increasing hunger) [21]. A number of conditions can lead to quantitative and qualitative changes in chemosensory ability (Table 1).…”

“…1). Moreover, the olfactory system has been linked to endocrine systems which regulate or modify the body's energy balance [21], suggesting various metabolic and endocrine pathways related to food intake, energy balance, insulin resistance, low-grade chronic inflammation, and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis modifications, which may play a role in the modulation of olfactory pathways (Fig. 1).…”

“…The problems associated with olfactory dysfunction may extend beyond the reduced quality of life in diabetes. Because olfaction is believed to alter feeding states [21], the changes in dietary habits and/or desire for certain foods that accompany altered olfaction could affect metabolic control, with long-term consequences.…”

Identification by Docking Simulation and in vivo Effect of Essential Oil from Cinnamommum burmannii as Anti-obesity with Leptin Receptor in the Olfactory System of Mice Balb C

“…Provision of essential oils was based on the method carried out by Muctaridi et al (2011). 16 Mice were divided into 5 groups (each 5 shrimp) which consists of a control group, a group of stem bark essential oil (dose 0.2 and 1.0 μl /cage), and a group of leaf essential oil (dose 0.2 and 1.0 μl / cage). Essential oils are given by way of placing mice in the indoor/enclosed cage measuring 40x40x30 cm 3 previously steamed with essential oils as much as 2 times daily for 15 min before feeding.…”

Research with Chemistry and Pharmacology of Natural Products in Brazil: A Comparison with 70 Selected Countries from 5 Continents

“…However, today it is also well established that pheromones and other semiochemicals (or small molecules, as Meinwald 7 called them) are found in microorganisms [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] , amphibinas [17][18][19][20][21] , spiders [22][23][24][25][26][27][28] , birds [29][30][31][32][33] , marine organisms [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] , non-human mammals [42][43][44][45][46] , and humans. [47][48][49][50][51][52][53] According to Verpoorte 54 there are some 250,000 of such 'natural products' and some 4,000 new ones are reported every year, while Pierre Escoubas, a French researcher who started Venomic Tech, a company that aims to produce drugs form venoms, observed that the number of venomous animals is estimated to be more than 170,000. If, as he says, the average venom contains 250 peptides, a very conservative estimate, this could represent more than a million compounds worthy of investigation.…”