AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 261, Issue 2 339-R343, Copyright © 1991 by American Physiological Society
Influence of fatty acid oxidation in lateral hypothalamus on food intake and body composition
J. L. Beverly and R. J. Martin
Department of Foods and Nutrition, University of Georgia, Athens 30602.
This study tested the concept that the level of fatty acid oxidation in the
ventrolateral hypothalamus (VLH) reflects peripheral energy stores and
elicits compensatory responses to changes in energy balance status. Fatty
acid oxidation rates in the VLH were chronically altered over a 14-day
period by infusing into the VLH either 0.1 mM 4-pentenoic acid (4-PA; 5
ng/h) or 1.0 mM L-carnitine (L-Carn; 98 ng/h). Fatty acid oxidation rates
in the VLH were altered to a similar extent as by overfeeding (reduced 37%
by 4-PA) and dietary restriction (increased 28% by L-Carn). Diffusion of
infusates was limited, since there were normal rates of fatty acid
oxidation in the ventromedial hypothalamus and cortex. There were no
significant effects of altering fatty acid oxidation in the VLH on food
intake, body weight, body composition, or serum levels of glucose, insulin,
and free fatty acids. The results of this experiment indicate that the
level of fatty acid oxidation in the VLH is unlikely to independently
elicit changes in food intake or peripheral metabolism.
