22nd European Nutritional Science Congress

Regulation of feeding behaviour is possible through the coordinated functioning of both central and peripheral mechanisms. Among the systems modulating these mechanisms, the Endo Cannabinoid System (ECS) exerts a prominent role. Its presence in the brain and in peripheral tissues like adipose tissue or the liver helps regulate relevant aspects of eating behaviour, from energy homoeostasis to hedonic response to food. Taste and flavour are sensory experiences involving the oral and olfactory perception of food-derived chemicals. These processes can drive a primal sense of acceptance or rejection for what is sampled, thus influencing food choice and, ultimately, food preference. The learning process that is acquiring a (food) preference is influenced by environmental (i.e. availability) and internal (i.e. palatability) factors, and it is also affected by the ECS. Chronic overeating of highly palatable foods is among the main contributors to obesity. Despite the elegant doings of the various systems regulating eating behaviour, the progressive increase in highly processed, highly available, and highly palatable foods occurring in the last decades facilitate the dysregulation of the natural components that help to orchestrate and maintain a healthy weight. Given the importance of dietary choices in promoting a healthy metabolism, understanding the role of the ECS in the chemosensory response to food seems relevant in order to appropriately target one of the predominant systems involved in such metabolic conditions.