LACTATION SUPPRESSES DIURNAL RHYTHM OF SERUM LEPTIN

Rats consume most of their daily food intake at night; serum leptin le vels and adipose tissue leptin mRNA content are elevated at night in n on-lactating rats fed ad libitum. Lactation induces massive hyperphagi a with most food still consumed at night, but the nocturnal increase i n leptin secretion was not observed in lactating rats. Thus the link b etween nocturnal food intake and increased serum leptin is broken duri ng lactation and the hypoleptinaemia may be an important factor promot ing the hyperphagia of lactation. (C) 1998 Academic Press.