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Vagotomy and Mercaptoacetate Influence the Effect of Dietary Fat on Macronutrient Selection by Rats ^{1, 2, 3,}

Department of Foods and Nutrition ^* Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602

We have previously shown that rats fed saturated fat prefer a high protein, low carbohydrate diet, whereas animals fed unsaturated fat prefer a low protein, high carbohydrate diet. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether this "saturated fat effect" requires 1) the oxidation of the dietary fat and 2) an intact hepatic vagus nerve. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were vagotomized (hepatic branch) or sham-operated and injected with either mercaptoacetate (fatty acid oxidation inhibitor) or saline. Next, half of each group was given saturated fat (beef tallow) or unsaturated fat (corn oil) by gastric tube. All animals were given a choice between two mixed diets that differed in protein and carbohydrate. Sham-operated rats fed saturated fat ate more of the protein diet than did rats fed unsaturated fat. Vagotomy attenuated the intake of the protein diet in animals fed saturated fat. Mercaptoacetate or vagotomy had no effect on diet selection in rats fed unsaturated fat. These data indicate that the effect of saturated fat on diet selection requires an intact hepatic vagus and may be modulated by fatty acid oxidation. Furthermore, the mechanism for altering diet selection can be induced after a single meal.

KEY WORDS: • vagus • rats • diet selection • mercaptoacetate • saturated fat

¹ Some of these data were previously presented at the meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, September 2, 1992, Atlanta, GA [Mullen, B. J. & Martin, R. J. (1992) Effect of dietary fat on diet selection is influenced by vagotomy. Proceedings of NAASO meeting, September 2–5: 43S (abs.)].

² Supported by NIH grant #DK 41817.

³ The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

⁴ To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Manuscript received 17 May 1993. Revision accepted 24 January 1994.

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