The gut microbiota is able to influence overall energy balance via effects on both energy intake and expenditure, and is a peripheral target for potential obesity therapies. However, the precise mechanism by which the gut microbiota influences energy intake and body weight regulation is not clear. Microbes use small molecules to communicate with each other; some of these molecules are ligands at mammalian receptors and this may be a mechanism by which microbes communicate with the host. Here we briefly review the literature showing beneficial effects of microbial metabolites on food intake regulation and examine the potential role for vagal afferent neurons, the gut-brain axis.

肠道微生物群能够通过影响能量摄入和消耗来影响整体能量平衡，并且是潜在肥胖治疗的外围目标。然而，肠道微生物群影响能量摄入和体重调节的确切机制尚不清楚。微生物利用小分子相互交流；其中一些分子是哺乳动物受体的配体，这可能是微生物与宿主交流的一种机制。在这里，我们简要回顾了显示微生物代谢物对食物摄入调节有益影响的文献，并检查了迷走神经传入神经元（肠-脑轴）的潜在作用。