Eight weeks of β-caryophyllene supplementation (a CB2 receptor agonist) reduced food addiction scores and lowered serum orexin-A levels in obese women, but did not affect body composition, oxytocin, or neuropeptide Y.
Food addiction scores improvedβ-caryophyllene significantly reduced Yale Food Addiction Scale scores compared to placebo, with a concurrent decrease in the appetite-driving neuropeptide orexin-A
What the researchers found
β-caryophyllene (100 mg/day for 8 weeks) significantly reduced Yale Food Addiction Scale scores compared to placebo (change: 1.5 ± 0.9 vs. −0.7 ± 1.4; corrected p=0.05).
Serum orexin-A levels significantly decreased within the β-caryophyllene group (p=0.02), though the between-group comparison did not reach significance after correction (p=0.09). No significant effects were observed on body composition, anthropometric indices, appetite, eating behavior, dietary intake, physical activity, mental health (stress, anxiety, depression), or levels of oxytocin and neuropeptide Y (NPY).
Why it matters
Food addiction is increasingly recognized as a contributor to the obesity epidemic, but there are no approved medications for it. β-caryophyllene is a natural, FDA-approved food additive that activates CB2 receptors without the psychoactive effects associated with CB1 activation (the receptor THC targets). The reduction in food addiction scores and orexin-A — a neuropeptide strongly linked to reward-seeking behavior — suggests a novel approach to treating compulsive eating through the cannabinoid-neuropeptide pathway.
How the study worked
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. 52 obese women with food addiction (YFAS score ≥3) were randomly assigned to β-caryophyllene softgels (100 mg/day with meal, n=26) or placebo (n=26) for 8 weeks. Outcomes assessed: food addiction scores, body composition, anthropometric measurements, eating behavior, appetite, mental health, dietary intake, physical activity, and serum levels of orexin-A, oxytocin, and neuropeptide Y.
What this study cannot tell us
Small sample size (52 participants). Women-only, limiting generalizability. The between-group orexin-A comparison did not reach statistical significance after correction (p=0.09). No change in body weight or composition suggests the anti-addiction effect may not translate to meaningful weight loss at this dose and duration. The YFAS score change, while significant, was modest. Only one dose was tested.
How to read the evidence
This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial — a strong study design. However, the small sample size (52), marginal p-value for the primary outcome (p=0.05), and failure to show effects on body composition limit the clinical significance.
When this study was published
Published in 2022, this study is recent and represents early clinical exploration of cannabinoid-neuropeptide interactions in food addiction.
The bigger picture
The intersection of the cannabinoid and neuropeptide systems in regulating appetite and addiction is a frontier of metabolic neuroscience. Orexin-A is particularly interesting because it drives both appetite and reward-seeking behavior — it's the peptide that keeps you awake and motivated to seek food or drugs. Finding that a safe, dietary cannabinoid can reduce both food addiction behavior and orexin-A levels suggests a mechanistic connection worth exploring further.
Questions still open
- Would higher doses or longer treatment duration produce stronger effects on food addiction scores and body weight?
- Is the orexin-A reduction the mechanism through which β-caryophyllene reduces food addiction, or are these independent effects?
- Could β-caryophyllene be combined with other weight management interventions to enhance food addiction outcomes?
Common questions
What is β-caryophyllene and is it safe?
What is orexin-A and why does lowering it matter for food addiction?
Read the original research
The effect of β-caryophyllene on food addiction and its related behaviors: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Appetite, 178, 106160
Citation
Alizadeh, Shahab; Djafarian, Kurosh; Mofidi Nejad, Maryam; Yekaninejad, Mir Saeed; Javanbakht, Mohammad Hassan. (2022). The effect of β-caryophyllene on food addiction and its related behaviors: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.. Appetite, 178, 106160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2022.106160