Short term diet of precooked corn meal almost lacking in tryptophan and interspecific rat-mouse aggressive behaviour.
The content of tryptophan in a precooked corn meal and in 4 types of selected corn seeds: Zea mays indurata, identata, opaque/2 and Marano synth., has been determined by three different methods: ion-exchange chromatography, spectrofluorometry and spectrophotometry. This content is very low, less than 0.080% d.w. Alimentation for 4 d with a diet composed of precooked corn meal with a tryptophan content less than 0.025% induced the appearance of aggressive-cidal or aggressive non-cidal behaviour towards the mouse in more than half of Wistar rats bred in a room constantly lighted by a sodium steam light. The appearance of this behaviour is probably connected with a decrease in brain serotonin.
Institute of Physiology, Hygiene and Human Nutrition, University of Palermo, Italy.
S
S
Giammanco
M
M
Ernandes
R
R
Lopez de Onate
M A
MA
Paderni
D000374:Aggression; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013997:Time Factors; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000032:analysis / Q000172:deficiency*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000032:analysis*
D014364:Tryptophan