Adrenaline anorexia blocked by alpha and beta adrenergic antagonists in 24-h fasted rats

• Published in: Behavioural brain research Vol. 37; no. 2; p. 145
• Main Authors: De-la-Cruz, F, Soto-Mora, M L, Uriostegui, T, Russek, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 05.03.1990
• Subjects: Animals; Appetite - drug effects; Brain - drug effects; Eating - drug effects; Epinephrine - pharmacology; Female; Food Deprivation - physiology; Hunger - drug effects; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Male; Phentolamine - pharmacology; Propranolol - pharmacology; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha - drug effects; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta - drug effects
• ISSN: 0166-4328
• DOI: 10.1016/0166-4328(90)90089-W

The effect of alpha and beta adrenergic blockers, phentolamine (PH) and propranolol (PR), on the anorexia induced by intraperitoneal (i.p.) adrenaline (A) was studied in 24 h-fasting male and female adult Wistar rats. I.p. PH elicited a small but significant increase in food intake in both males and females. The combination of PH + PR completely blocked the anorexia elicited by i.p. A in both males and females. In females, PH and PR alone partially blocked A-induced anorexia. In males, PH had no significant effect on A-induced anorexia but PR blocked it completely. It was concluded that the relative participation of alpha and beta adrenergic receptors in A-induced anorexia seems to depend on the sex of the rat, at least for the doses used in the present study: in females, alpha and beta actions seem to be approximately equal, while in males the beta is predominant.