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Nutritional Chemistry Lab
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A lab that investigates why we eat through the connections between the brain and the organs.
AboutAbout the lab
Uncovering the full mechanism of feeding behavior.
The lab aims to elucidate the full picture of how feeding behavior is regulated.
Its research draws broadly on methods from the life sciences, including neuroscience, endocrinology and metabolism, molecular biology, and genetics.
Established in 1924, the lab states its mission as leading innovation in nutritional metabolism.
Undergraduates are assigned to the lab in their fourth year (graduate students belong to the Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agriculture).
Key terms
- Functional ingredient
- An ingredient in food that, beyond providing nutrition, helps regulate the body's condition
- Olfactory epithelium
- The area deep in the nose lined with cells that detect odors
- Neural circuit
- A pathway formed by connected neurons in the brain that processes information
NewsLab news
A doctoral student received the Young Investigator Excellence Presentation Award at the Kinki Physiological Society Meeting of the Physiological Society of Japan
Assistant Professor Matsui received a Poster Award at the Endocrinology and Metabolism Summer Seminar of the Japan Endocrine Society
ResearchResearch themes
To uncover the full picture of how feeding behavior is regulated, the lab draws broadly on methods from neuroscience, endocrinology and metabolism, molecular biology, and genetics.
*Illustrative imageAppetite for the nutrients the body needs
The mechanisms that decide "what to eat" are less well understood than those that decide "how much to eat." The lab investigates how food preferences arise in response to the body's nutrient needs, for sugar, fat, and protein, by examining communication between organs.
*Illustrative imageThe urge to drink alcohol
The lab has found inter-organ communication that regulates alcohol drinking based on nutritional information, and has identified a functional ingredient that acts on it. It is working to elucidate the mechanism and to develop more effective compounds.
*Illustrative imageBrain circuits that determine food preferences
The lab has discovered a pharmacological model in which food likes and dislikes reverse regardless of the nutrient involved. Using it to survey the whole brain, the lab is working to identify the neural circuits that control food preference through genetically modified mice and behavioral experiments.
*Illustrative imageHow we perceive food aromas
The lab has shown that the CD36 receptor, thought to be a sensor for fatty acids and other molecules, is present in the olfactory epithelium, which detects odors. It is examining whether CD36 captures the aroma compounds of particular foods.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members include faculty, technical assistants, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.
- ProfessorTsutomu Sasaki
- Assistant ProfessorSatoshi Tsuzuki
- Assistant ProfessorSho Matsui
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Japanese set meal with tonkatsu” Betsylavolette / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Appetite for the nutrients the body needs: “Four-striped Grass Mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) eating some melted ice-cream ... ( )” Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- The urge to drink alcohol: “Japanese sake glasses” Culture Japon / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Brain circuits that determine food preferences: “Mouse Brain Coronal (NIH BioArt )” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- How we perceive food aromas: “Olfactory system” Chabacano / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
- Related lab (Food Physiology and Function Lab): “Food-healthy-vegetables-potatoes ( )” www.Pixel.la Free Stock Photos / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Biology and Bioresponse Lab): “Zinc foils” Mauro Cateb / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Enzyme Chemistry Lab): “Crystal Structure of the FokI endonuclease - PDB-2FOK” Marcello002 / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Bioorganic Chemistry Lab): “Chemical Compound ( )” National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences from Bethesda, MD / Public domain (cropped)
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