Decrease in sweet taste in rats after gastric bypass surgery.
BACKGROUND
The literature contains evidence that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery has an effect in humans on taste and preference for carbohydrate-rich foods. This study tested the hypothesis that RYGB affects sweet taste behavior using a rat model.


METHODS
Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent either RYGB or sham surgery. Then 4 weeks after surgery, the rats were given taste-salient, brief-access lick tests with a series of sucrose concentrations.


RESULTS
The RYGB rats, but not the sham rats, lost weight over the 5-week postoperative period. The RYGB rats showed a significant decrease in mean licks for the highest concentration of sucrose (0.25-1.0 mol/l) but not for the low concentrations of sucrose or water.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings showed that RYGB surgery affected sweet taste behavior in rats, with postsurgical rats having lower sensitivity or avidity for sucrose than sham-treated control rats. This finding is similar to human reports that sweet taste and preferences for high-caloric foods are altered after bypass surgery.
Tichansky
David S
DS
Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, 1100 Walnut Street, 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. David.Tichansky@jefferson.edu
Glatt
A Rebecca
AR
Madan
Atul K
AK
Harper
Jason
J
Tokita
Kenichi
K
Boughter
John D
JD
D000818:Animals; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000502:physiology*; D015390:Gastric Bypass; D008297:Male; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D011184:Postoperative Period; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013395:Sucrose; D013649:Taste; D015431:Weight Loss
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D013395:Sucrose