Abstract
Recently, attention has been focused on the preventive effects of biologically active substances in marine products on life-style-related diseases, including obesity, and the mechanisms responsible have been discussed. Histamine is a derivative of histidine, and histidine is enriched in tuna and bonito. It has been reported that histamine has a suppressive effect on food intake by activating histaminergic neurons. Here, we studied the suppressive effects of orally administered histidine-enriched protein on food intake. The actual intakes of energy, protein, and histidine in 64 male and female students living in Ehime Prefecture were investigated. Under low energy intake, there was a positive correlation between the intakes of energy and protein. However, a negative correlation was seen between the intakes of energy and histidine/protein. These results suggest that histidine is converted to histamine in the human body and exerts a suppressive effect on food intake by activating histaminergic neurons.
