P57 is an oxy
pregnane
Pregnane, also known as 17β-ethylandrostane or as 10β,13β-dimethyl-17β-ethylgonane, is a C21 steroid and, indirectly, a parent of progesterone. It is a parent hydrocarbon for two series of steroids stemming from 5α-pregnane (originally all ...
steroid
A steroid is an organic compound with four fused compound, fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration.
Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes t ...
al
glycoside
In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...
isolated from the
traditional African medicine
Traditional African medicine is a range of traditional medicine disciplines involving indigenous herbalism and African spirituality, typically including diviners, midwives, and herbalists. Practitioners of traditional African medicine claim, ...
''
Hoodia gordonii''. P57 is hypothesized to be the chemical constituent responsible for the putative
appetite suppressant
An anorectic is a drug that reduces appetite, resulting in lower food consumption, leading to weight loss. These substances work by affecting the central nervous system or certain neurotransmitters to create a feeling of fullness or reduce the desi ...
activity of ''Hoodia''.
In a
study on rats at
Brown Medical School,
intracerebroventricular injections of the purified P57 demonstrated that the compound has a likely
central nervous system
The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain, spinal cord and retina. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity o ...
(CNS)
mechanism of action
In pharmacology, the term mechanism of action (MOA) refers to the specific biochemical Drug interaction, interaction through which a Medication, drug substance produces its pharmacological effect. A mechanism of action usually includes mention o ...
like that of
neuroactive steroids.
The studies demonstrated that the compound increases the content of
ATP by 50-150% in
hypothalamic neuron
A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, excitable cell (biology), cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network (biology), neural net ...
s. In addition,
third ventricle
The third ventricle is one of the four connected cerebral ventricles of the ventricular system within the mammalian brain. It is a slit-like cavity formed in the diencephalon between the two thalami, in the midline between the right and lef ...
administration of P57 reduced subsequent 24-hour food intake by 40-60%.
See also
*
Anorectic
An anorectic is a drug that reduces appetite, resulting in lower food consumption, leading to weight loss. These substances work by affecting the central nervous system or certain neurotransmitters to create a feeling of fullness or reduce the desi ...
, for additional information about appetite suppressants
*
Neuroactive steroid
Neurosteroids, also known as neuroactive steroids, are endogenous or exogenous steroids that rapidly alter neuronal excitability through interaction with ligand-gated ion channels and other cell surface receptors. The term ''neurosteroid'' was coi ...
References
{{Glycosides
Anorectics
Steroidal glycosides