Food intake suppression in rats by a substance isolated from human feces

A substance which suppresses food intake was isolated from human feces. This substance was extracted and partially purified using Sephacryl S-200 column chromatography and a DEAE-Sephadex A-25 column chromatography. To assess the biological activity, rats were subjected to various applications. The intraperitoneal administration and the intracerebroventricular microinfusion of this substance suppresses short- and long-term food intake. The central infusion suppresses feeding with a potency over 1000 times that the peripheral administration. The central infusion of the heat-treated substance was without effect. These results suggest that a substance present in human feces (probably of a proteic nature) suppresses food intake in rats, at the level of the central nervous system.