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Biologists have found a compound in python blood that helps them eat big meals and go months without eating while staying healthy.
Some pythons can grow to be more than six metres long. They can eat a whole antelope and survive for months or even years without eating. Still, their hearts and muscles stay strong.
Leslie Leinwand of the University of Colorado Boulder and Jonathon Long of Stanford University did this study together. The US scientists wanted to learn about the python’s eating abilities.
Metabolism is the process of turning food into energy and chemicals to power the body (see graphic). Metabolites are molecules in the blood that are made or used during metabolism.
In the study, pythons were fed once every 28 days. After a meal, the scientists tested the snakes’ blood. They found 208 metabolites that rose after eating. One molecule rose by 1,000 times. It is called para-tyramine-O-sulfate (pTOS).
“Obviously, we are not snakes,” Long said. “But maybe by studying these animals, we can identify molecules or metabolic pathways that also affect human metabolism.”
They did more tests with researchers from Baylor University. They tested pTOS in mice. They found that giving high doses of pTOS to both obese and lean mice reduced their appetite. The metabolite affected the brain’s hunger centre, called the hypothalamus. But it did not cause digestive issues, muscle loss or reduced energy.
The snakes’ gut bacteria made pTOS. It is not found naturally in mice. But it is found in humans at low levels and rises a bit after a meal. In the future, the team plans to study how pTOS affects humans. They also want to learn about other metabolites that rise after pythons eat.
