DIETARY-PROTEIN RESTRICTION AND SELECTIVE PREFERENCE FOR A PROTEIN-CONTAINING DIET IN THE GOLDEN-HAMSTER (MESOCRICETUS-AURATUS)

Two experiments were performed to examine protein appetite in golden h amsters (Mesocricetus auratus). In Experiment 1, hamsters were maintai ned for 10 days on either a protein-free or a nutritionally complete m aintenance diet, and they were also given access to protein-rich and c arbohydrate-rich test diets for 6 h/day. Hamsters maintained on the pr otein-free diet strongly preferred the protein test diet, but hamsters on the complete diet showed no such preference even when their calori c intake was matched to that of hamsters on the protein-free diet. In Experiment 2, hamsters that had developed a preference for the protein test diet while maintained on the protein-free diet were given Purina Chow for 25 days to permit them to recover from their protein deficie ncy. When later maintained on the complete diet, these hamsters did no t demonstrate a preference for the protein test diet when maintained o n the complete diet, but did so when returned to the protein-free main tenance diet. These findings indicate that dietary protein restriction causes hamsters to develop a strong preference for a protein-rich die t and that this preference may be manifested only in response to a phy siological need for protein. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.