Worms Get The Munchies Like The Rest Of Us, Finds Study 'With Profound Implications For Human Health'

A new study has confirmed that pot-smoking bipeds are not the only creatures that get the munchies. Worms apparently experience cravings for their favorite snacks after consuming cannabis.

Researchers at the University of Oregon said the tiny nematode worms they used for the study are smaller than a human eyelash, so they soaked them in cannabinoids, the active substances found in weed. Though it was not known whether the worms got high, they did display a stronger than normal preference for higher-calorie foods, just as humans crave tasty food after consuming cannabis.

The study’s findings suggest that cannabis can interfere with an important mechanism that helps regulate appetite.

Hungry Nematodes

“Cannabinoids make nematodes hungrier for their favored foods and less hungry for their non-favored foods,” said Shawn Lockery, one of the study's authors and a professor of biology and neuroscience at the University of Oregon. “Thus, the effects of cannabinoids in nematodes parallels the effects of marijuana on human appetites.”

Cannabinoids act by binding to proteins in the brain, nervous system and other parts of the body called cannabinoid receptors. 

“Cannabinoid signaling 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,” Lockery said.

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.

“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.”

Profound Implications For Human Health

Researchers used C. elegans, a species of the nematode roundworm that has served as a model organism to study human diseases ranging from Parkinson's disease to mitochondrial diseases, as well as studying the immune system. As such, the scientists said the study suggested that worms could be used for further testing and screening drugs for human use.

“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 signaling and metabolism, with profound implications for human health,” Lockery concluded.

The study was published on April 20 in the journal Current Biology.

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