THE DEPENDENCE OF THE CARBOHYDRATE, FAT AND PROTEIN APPETITE OF RATS ON THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF THE VITAMIN B COMPLEX

Abstract

Groups of young adult rats were given complete or partial access to a full self-selection diet consisting of sucrose, olive oil, casein (autoclaved and purified), 5 mineral solutions, cod liver oil and dried baker''s yeast. With the full selection the rats gained normally, showed'' 4-. to Srday estrous cycles and normal endocrine glands. Carbohydrate constituted 55.8% of the average diet, fat, 18.4% and protein, 255%. When yeast was withheld rats at once lost weight, the sex cycle disappeared in 14 days, and after 40 days there was a marked atrophy of the endoerines. Their average diet was carbohydrate 24.9%, protein 7.5% and fat 67.6%. With access to the same basic self-selection diet without yeast, but with crystalline thiamin chloride, riboflavin, nicotinic acid and B6 offered singly or in combinations, the rats showed an active appetite for each of them. Thiamin chloride particularly stimulated the carbohydrate appetite and riboflavin the fat appetite; but no one vit. had an exclusive effect on the appetite for any of the 3 main foodstuffs. Ingestion of all 4 vits. increased the carbohydrate appetite almost to normal, decreased the fat appetite to normal, but failed to increase the protein appetite much beyond half the normal level; however, this was clearly influenced by thiamin chloride and especially riboflavin. The ingestion of all 4 vits. markedly increased the calcium lactate and sodium phosphate appetite. On all other combinations of vits. the rats lost weight steadily, almost in inverse proportion to the number of different vits. The weight curves closely followed the total caloric intake. On the 4 vit. B components, uteri, ovaries and thymus were nearest to normal wt. Thiamin chloride seems to serve as a basis for the action of the other components of the vit. B complex.