In the intestine, gut distension and nutrients are detected by mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors, respectively. The activation of these receptors sends an afferent nervous message to the hypothalamus in the brain. In turn, the hypothalamus controls the glucose entry in tissues, and thus glycemia.
Currently, the gut is considered a primary site for the development of pathologies that modify brain functions such as neurodegenerative (Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, etc.) and metabolic (type 2 diabetes, obesity, etc.) disorders. Deciphering the mode of interaction between microbiota and the brain is a real original option to prevent (and maybe treat in the future) the establishment of gut-brain disfunctions and associated pathologies.
The Amazonian forests are home to a shrub, the camu-camu, whose fruit could be of great help in the fight against obesity and metabolic diseases. This is described in our latest study published with the A-Mansia R&D team in the journal Metabolites.
The enteric nervous system (ENS) plays a key role in controlling the gut-brain axis under normal and pathological conditions, such as type 2 diabetes. The discovery of intestinal actors, such as enterosynes, able to modulate the ENS-induced duodenal contraction is considered a pioneering approach.