Calcium-deprived rats avoid sweet compounds

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition Vol. 128; no. 7; pp. 1232 - 1238
• Main Authors: Tordoff, M.G, Rabusa, S.H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD American Society for Nutritional Sciences 01.07.1998; American Institute of Nutrition
• Subjects: animal models; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Calcium; Calcium - administration & dosage; Calcium - deficiency; Calcium, Dietary - administration & dosage; Corn Oil; Diet; Energy Intake; Ethanol; experimental diets; Feeding. Feeding behavior; food choices; Food Preferences; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glucans; Male; nutrient deficiencies; nutrient intake; Nutritional Status; polycose; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rodents; Solutions; Sucrose; Sugar; sweet-tasting compounds; Sweetening Agents; Taste; trace element deficiencies; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Vertebrata; Feeding behavior; Mammalia; Calcium; Rat; Rodentia; Sweet taste; Feeding preference; Restricted diet; Inorganic element; Feeding
• ISSN: 0022-3166; 1541-6100
• DOI: 10.1093/jn/128.7.1232

To characterize the link between calcium status and sweet solution intake, rats fed a diet containing 25 mmol Ca2+/kg (Ca-25, low calcium) or 150 mmol Ca2+/kg (Ca-150, control) were given 48-h two-bottle tests with a choice between water and various concentrations of a nutrient (sucrose, Polycose, ethanol and/or corn oil). Rats fed the Ca-25 diet had significantly lower sucrose intakes and preferences over the entire range tested (10-320 g/L) even though the same (Experiment 1), or identically treated (Experiment 2a) rats had normal Polycose and ethanol intakes and normal (Experiment 1, 2b) or significantly greater (Experiment 2a) corn oil intakes. In additional tests, rats fed the Ca-25 diet had significantly lower intakes relative to rats fed the Ca-150 diet of other sweeteners (30 mmol/L D-phenylalanine, 1 mmol/L saccharin and 0.3 mmol/L aspartame), significantly higher intakes of 0.5 mg/L capsaicin and 300 mmol/L monosodium glutamate, and normal intakes of 10 g/L or 80 g/L safflower oil and 10 g/L peanut oil. In a three-cup macronutrient selection experiment (Experiment 3), calcium-deprived rats ate significantly less of a high sucrose carbohydrate source and significantly more of a protein source than did controls. These results suggest that calcium deficiency reduces the rat's liking for sweetness, irrespective of the type or form of sweetener, and that this is not due to a general reduction in energy intake.