It is not just humans that get the munchies: worms also display the same craving for their favourite snacks after consuming cannabis, new research has found.
In the study, published in the journal Current Biology, researchers managed to simulate worms getting stoned by soaking them in cannabinoid.
It is not known whether the worms got high, but they did display a stronger preference for higher-calorie foods, just as humans crave junk food after taking cannabis.
The finding suggests that cannabis can interfere with an important mechanism that helps regulate appetite, the study concluded.
Cannabinoids are known to act by binding to proteins in the brain, nervous system and other parts of the body called cannabinoid receptors. If cannabinoids contain a chemical known as THC, it can induce feelings of relaxation and contentment.
Normally, these receptors respond to cannabinoids that are naturally present in the body, known as endocannabinoids. The endocannabinoid system plays important roles in eating, anxiety, learning and memory, reproduction and metabolism.
Shawn Lockery, one of the authors of the study and a professor of biology and neuroscience at the University of Oregon in the US, said: “Cannabinoid signalling is present in the majority of tissues in our body. It therefore could be involved in the cause and treatment of a wide range of diseases.”
For the study, the scientists soaked the worms in anandamide, an endocannabinoid.
It is thought that worms find high-calorie food more desirable, and actively seek it out. When soaked in anandamide, that preference became stronger, the researchers said, adding that the worms flocked to the food and stayed there longer than usual.
Lockery said: “We suggest that this increase in existing preference is analogous to eating more of the foods you would crave anyway. It’s like choosing pizza versus oatmeal.”
The researchers said the study suggested that worms could be used in testing and screening drugs for human use.
Lockery said: “The fact that the human cannabinoid receptor gene is functional in C. elegans food-choice experiments sets the stage for rapid and inexpensive screening for drugs that target a wide variety of proteins involved in cannabinoid signalling and metabolism, with profound implications for human health.”
