CARBOHYDRATE-COMPOSITION EFFECTS ON FOOD-INTAKE AND ENERGY COMPENSATION IN RATS

To determine the effect of both quantity and composition of carbohydra te on voluntary food intake and energy compensation in rats, carbohydr ate preloads (corn starch, sucrose, glucose, fructose, glucose + fruct ose) were given intragastrically tig.) at various doses (0.5 - 3.0 gl 5 ml) and voluntary food intake over the next 14 h was measured. Quant ity of all treatments affected voluntary food intake in the first, and over the fourteen hour feeding period, in a linear, dose-dependent ma nner (p < 0.05), except for fructose. Fructose, at all doses, lowered voluntary food intake more than other sugars (p < 0.05). With the exce ption of the fructose treatment, rats compensated for the energy conte nt of the carbohydrate preloads over the 14 h feeding period. These fi ndings suggest that rats make precise adjustments over the day for the energy contained in readily digestible carbohydrate preloads, with th e exception of fructose. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science, Inc.