Litorin (LIT)

Litorin (LIT), a bombesin-like nonapeptide, decreased food intake in rats in a dose-related manner after parenteral injection. LIT decreased deprivation-induced water intake only at a dose much higher than required to suppress feeding. LIT administration did not significantly alter the frequency of observed feeding-associated behaviors, nor did it result in subsequent aversion to an associated novel solution. Litorin shares with bombesin structural features and pharmacological actions that include the suppression of food intake in a manner that mimics natural satiation. The spectrum of biological activity exhibited by litorin, a bombesin-like nonapeptide found in extracts of the skin of the Australian leptodactylid frog Litoria aurea was compared with that exhibited by the tetradecapeptide bombesin.