title: Different influences of two types of diets commonly used for rats on a series of parameters related to the metabolism of central serotonin and noradrenaline.
abstract: A commercial chow and a semipurified diet fed for 14 days to Sprague-Dawley male rats kept under standardized conditions of temperature, humidity, and light had different effects on a series of parameters related to the metabolism of central serotonin and noradrenaline. Rats fed the commercial chow had (1) a lower serum level of the six neutral amino acids (valine, isoleucine leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and methionine) known to compete with tryptophan for its entry into the brain, (2) a higher ratio of tryptophan to the sum of the six neutral amino acids, (3) a lower ratio of tyrosine to the other five neutral amino acids, (4) a lower ratio of serotonin to 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in hypothalamus, (5) a higher tryptophan hydroxylase activity in raphe nuclei, and (6) a higher content of noradrenaline in hypothalamus. It is suggested that chow fed rats had a more active central serotonin metabolism in hypothalamus than rats fed the semipurified diet.
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D004032:Diet; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism*; D011903:Raphe Nuclei / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D012701:Serotonin; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase; D009638:Norepinephrine