Dietary Cannabinoid Reduces Food Addiction Scores and Lowers Orexin-A Neuropeptide in Obese Women

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.

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.

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.

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.