Adipokinetic hormones

Adipokinetic hormones (AKH) are a group of neuropeptides that are formed in the corpora cardiaca of insects and control the energy metabolism. A total of 30 different variants are known to date. AKH mainly act on the fat body and promote the breakdown of the fats stored in it.

The high energy consumption when flying insects is ensured by switching from carbohydrate consumption to consumption of the large fat body. The consumption of fatty acids in muscles is increased. In their solitary phase, grasshoppers eat the largest possible fat body. This is then used during the long-haul flight due to its favorable energy balance. This process of converting the energy supply is mainly controlled by the AKH.

See also

• Adipokines (messenger substances from the fatty tissue of mammals)

Web links

• AKH on innovations-report.de

Individual evidence

1. ^ H. Frederik Nijhout: Insect Hormones. Princeton University Press, 1998, ISBN 9780691059129 , p. 11.