AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 242, Issue 5 429-R433, Copyright © 1982 by American Physiological Society
Role of the small bowel in regulating food intake in rats
R. L. Atkinson, J. H. Whipple, S. H. Atkinson and C. C. Stewart
This study tested the hypothesis that exposure of the lower intestine to
nutrients decreases subsequent food intake. Eight male Sprague-Dawley rats
underwent jejunoileal bypass surgery with 8 cm of proximal jejunum
anastomosed to 5 cm of terminal ileum in an end-to-side fashion. Eight
control rats had sham bypass surgery with similar intestinal incisions that
were reanastomosed in normal continuity. Another group of eight rats
underwent ileal transposition (IT). A 10-cm segment of terminal ileum was
transected, leaving the mesentery and blood supply intact, and transposed
to the jejunum 8 cm from the ligament of Treitz. Thus total intestinal
length was intact. Eight control rats had similar intestinal transections
reanastomosed in normal continuity. A similar pattern of decreased food
intake in the first 1-2 wk occurred in both bypass and IT rats. The values
were significantly different from the respective sham surgery control
groups. Body weights decreased, but the fall was greater in bypass rats.
These data suggest that partially digested food in the lower intestine
decreases food intake.
