Control of Physiological Response in the Rat by Dietary Nutrient Concentration

Abstract

In three separate experiments, growing, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets which contained: 1) graded levels of fiber 0-70%, 2) graded levels of pyridoxine 1-10 mg/kg diet, and 3) graded levels of casein 0-30%. The following physiological responses were measured in each respective experiment: 1) food intake, weight gain, serum triglycerides, 2) food intake, weight gain, SGPT levels, and 3) weight specific food intake, weight gain, relative testes weight. Diets were fed as a single source, and in each case, physiological response could be predicted as a function of dietary nutrient concentration. When self-selection is prevented, rats establish new steady-state response profiles, which are sigmoidal in shape and dependent on the interaction of the rats' genetic potential with the environmental configuration.

Ethanol administration in the drinking fluid to pregnant rats as a model for the fetal alcohol syndrome

“…Paired fed animals show a higher level of undernutrition than the ethanol treated rats, as indicated by their reduced body weight gain and their less frequent viable gestations, suggesting that they may not be considered proper nutritional controls for alcohol treated animals. Rats on 50o/c fiber diet receive only about 75% of the calorie intake of controls on normal diet, and in that aspect our results agree with those of Mercer et al [21]. These rats on 50o/c fiber diet take in approximately 14% more calories than the alcohol treated rats, although this comparison should be made with caution because of the known effects that high fiber dietary content has on intestinal morphology and nutrient transport [3,13,26].…”

Clinical assessment of Salatrim, a reduced-calorie triacylglycerol

“…Porikos and Van Itallie (1983) reported increases in AST and ALT of 80-100% when subjects were fed high-sucrose diets. Other reports show increases in serum aminotransferase activity in subjects receiving parenteral nutrition (Lindor et al, 1979;Mercer et al, 1984;Chang and Silvis, 1974;Dudrik et al, 1972).…”

Determination of role of gluten prepared bread against hypercholesterolemic rats

“…The mean values ( Due to various variables such as energy equilibrium, these diets had no impact on body weight and feed consumption in rats fed starchbased diets; a marked rise in nutritional fiber consumption [11].…”