SHEET /vs/leptin-vs-ghrelin · COMPARISON
Leptin vs Ghrelin: what is the difference?
How they differ
from source
These two are usually introduced as the fullness hormone and the hunger hormone, and the neat symmetry hides how differently they behave. Ghrelin is made mostly in the stomach, rises before a meal and falls after it, and acts on a timescale of hours: it is a short-term signal to eat now. Leptin is made by fat tissue in proportion to how much of it there is, so it is a long-term signal about energy stores rather than about the next meal. That asymmetry is why the two are not a simple on and off pair. Both are peptide hormones, ghrelin a short chain and leptin a protein several times its size, so neither survives the stomach.
Side by side
| Leptin | Ghrelin | |
|---|---|---|
| Formula | C87H138N22O28S2 | C149H249N47O42 |
| Molecular weight | 2,004.3 g/mol | 3,370.9 g/mol |
| Family | Peptides | Peptides |
| Everyday group | Body | Body |
| Functional groups | Alcohols, Carboxylic Acids, Amines, Aromatics, Amides, Thiols | Alcohols, Carboxylic Acids, Amines, Aromatics, Esters, Amides |
| CAS number | 177404-21-6 | 304853-26-7 |
| PubChem CID | 157010069 | 16133832 |
Common questions
- What is the difference between Leptin and Ghrelin?
- These two are usually introduced as the fullness hormone and the hunger hormone, and the neat symmetry hides how differently they behave. Ghrelin is made mostly in the stomach, rises before a meal and falls after it, and acts on a timescale of hours: it is a short-term signal to eat now. Leptin is made by fat tissue in proportion to how much of it there is, so it is a long-term signal about energy stores rather than about the next meal.
- Is Leptin bigger than Ghrelin?
- Ghrelin is the heavier molecule, 3,370.9 g/mol against 2,004.3 g/mol for Leptin. Leptin is C87H138N22O28S2 and Ghrelin is C149H249N47O42.