Naltrexone infusion inhibits the development of preference for a high-sucrose diet.
We hypothesized that the opioid antagonist naltrexone would inhibit the redevelopment of a preference for a high-sucrose diet after an abstention period from this diet. Rats that chose between a starch or sucrose diet for 10 days preferred the sucrose diet. Rats were then given access to the starch diet alone for another 10-day period. A miniosmotic pump containing saline or naltrexone was then implanted (70 microg/h; 1.7 mg/day) for approximately 10 days. During the saline infusion, 77% of the total energy came from the sucrose diet, whereas during the naltrexone infusion, 33% of the total energy came from the sucrose diet. We repeated this study in another group of rats but did not restrict the sucrose diet. In this case naltrexone failed to decrease preference for the sucrose diet. Thus naltrexone infusion inhibited redevelopment of a preference for a sucrose diet after a period of restriction to a starch diet for 10 days but had no effect on preference if both diets were present throughout the study.
Levine
Allen S
AS
Minnesota Obesity Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis 55417, USA. allenl@umn.edu
Grace
Martha K
MK
Cleary
James P
JP
Billington
Charles J
CJ
D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000187:drug effects; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000187:drug effects*; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D012528:Satiety Response / Q000187:drug effects; D013213:Starch; D013395:Sucrose
D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D013395:Sucrose; D009271:Naltrexone; D013213:Starch