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Sodium Deprivation during Thiamin Deficiency in Rats: Hormonal, Histological, and Behavioral Responses¹

The Procter and Gamble Company, Miami Valley Laboratories, Cincinnati, OH 45247

Adrenal function, determined by adrenocortical hormone measurement and histological studies, was examined in adult rats fed one of the following four diets for four weeks: thiamin-sufficient, sodium-adequate (+B/+Na) or inadequate (+B/-Na); and thiamin-deficient, sodium-adequate (-B/+Na) or inadequate (-B/-Na). Thiamin-deficiency significantly depressed plasma and urinary aldosterone responses to sodium deprivation; on the other hand, thiamin status had no consistent significant effect on aldosterone levels in sodium-adequate rats. Plasma corticosterone levels were significantly elevated by thiamin deficiency and yet unaffected by sodium deprivation. Histological examination of the adrenal glands in thiamin-deficient rats revealed a suboptimal zona glomerulosa response to sodium deprivation. Juxtaglomerular granulation in the kidneys indicated that renin secretion was adequate in thiamin-deficient rats. In another experiment, salt (NaCl) appetite development was confirmed in adult rats fed the -B/+Na diet. A direct role of aldosterone in producing salt appetite in thiamin-deficient rats seems unlikely since aldosterone levels were essentially unchanged in rats fed the -B/+Na diet. Instead, the elevated corticosterone levels in thiamin-deficient rats suggest a general stress mechanism for salt appetite development of which the reduced aldosterone response to sodium deprivation is a symptom.

KEY WORDS: • thiamin deficiency • sodium deprivation

¹ Presented in part at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Meeting, Atlanta, GA, April, 1981.

² To whom reprint requests should be sent.

Manuscript received 2 March 1981.