REDUCTION OF FEED-INTAKE IN SHEEP BY ENTEROSTATIN, THE PROCOLIPASE ACTIVATION PEPTIDE

Enterostatin, a peptide formed during the activation of pancreatic pro colipase in the duodenum, is likely a mediator of satiety in the rat. The objective of this research was to determine whether administration of enterostatin into the lateral cerebral ventricle of sheep unfed fo r 2 h resulted in reduced feed intake. Bolus doses of 2 mu g did reduc e (P < .03) feed intake during the hour after injection by one- to two -thirds of control. Doses 20 mu g or greater were not effective, and . 2 mu g also did not have any statistically significant effect. This ra nge of effective doses was similar to that observed in the rat, and th e effective dose of 2 mu g was approximately 10-fold greater on a per- animal basis, but less on a brain-size basis, than the amount needed t o achieve a similar response in the rat. Therefore, enterostatin can r educe feed intake and thus may also be involved in satiety in sheep.