Suppression of food intake, body weight, and body fat by jejunal fatty acid infusions

Three experiments investigated effects of jejunal lipid infusions given on 4 or 21 consecutive days in adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats. In experiment 1, 7-h infusions of linoleic or oleic acid (0.2 ml/h for 7 h; total load = 11.5 kcal) on 4 consecutive days reduced total intake (ad libitum consumpti on of the liquid diet Boost, Mead Johnson, plus load) by similar to 15% and decreased weight gain compared with 4-day tests with saline administration . In experiment 2, linoleic acid at 0.1 ml/h for 7 h (5.7 kcal) was ineffec tive, whereas the same load delivered in 3.5 h produced effects similar in magnitude to those in the first experiment. In experiment 3, jejunal infusi ons of linoleic acid (0.2 ml/h for 7 h) on 21 consecutive days reduced mean total intake by 16%, body weight by 10%, and carcass fat by 48% compared w ith controls receiving saline. The net decrease in caloric intake may refle ct the combined activation of pre- and postabsorptive mechanisms, and it su ggests a possible treatment for obesity.