Biological role of obestatin in physiology and pathophysiology

Abstract Obestatin is a 23 amino acid peptide encoded by the same gene as ghrelin and synthetized in the gastrointestinal tract. The first results of the investigations on the physiological function of obestatin pointed to its role in the reduction of appetite, delay of stomach emptying and decrease of body weight gains which may testify the fact that this peptide is an endogenous antagonist for ghrelin. The results of the last 5 years investigations on the physiological role of obestatin presented in this paper contradict such a statement and prove that obestatin is an independent hormone, participating in many physiological processes in the organism which may include the development of the gastrointestinal tract in the early postnatal period.