High-fat diet meal patterns during and after continuous nicotine treatment in male rats

A new apparatus to analyze meal-related ingestive behaviors in rats fed a complex multi-food diet

The measurement of the size and timing of meals provides critical insight into the processes underlying food intake. While most work has been conducted with a single food or fluid, the availability of food choices can also influence eating and interact with these processes. The 5-Item Food Choice Monitor (FCM), a device that continuously measures eating and drinking behaviors of rats provided up to 5 foods and 2 fluids simultaneously, was designed to allow study of food choices simultaneously with meal patterns. To validate this device, adult male and female (n = 8 each) Sprague-Dawley rats were housed in the FCM. Food and fluid intake were measured continuously (22-h/day) while rats were presented water and powdered chow. Then a cafeteria diet of 5 foods varying in macronutrient content, texture, and flavors were offered along with water. Lastly, the 5 foods were offered along with 0.3 M sucrose and water. Analyses were conducted to find optimal criteria for parceling ingestive behavior into meals, and then meal patterns were quantified. Total intake, as assessed by FCM software, was in good concordance with that measured by an independent scale. A minimum meal size of 1 kcal and a meal termination criterion of 15-min accounted for >90% of total intake and produced meal dynamics that were in register with the literature. Use of the cafeteria diet allowed comparisons between meal patterns with a single food versus a multi-food diet, as well as analyses of macronutrient-related food choices across subsets of meals. The FCM proved to accurately measure food intake over a 22-h period and was able to detect differences and similarities in the meal patterns of rats as a function of sex and food choice availability. Combined with any number of experimental manipulations, the FCM holds great promise in the investigation of the physiological and neural controls of ingestive behavior in a dietary environment that allows food choices, more closely emulating human eating conditions.

Ameliorative effects of African walnut on nicotine-induced reproductive toxicity in rat model

OBJECTIVE

Walnuts are widely consumed nut by men in Nigeria and it has been connected to improving male reproductive health. This study evaluated the effect of African walnut on sperm parameters and testicular architecture of nicotine (NIC)-induced reproductive toxicity in male Wistar rats.

METHODS

Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four groups, that is, GN₀ (1 ml/day normal saline and normal rat chow), GN₁ (1 ml/day NIC and normal rat chow), and GN₁W₆ and GN₁W₁₂ (1 ml/day of NIC daily fed with 6% and 12% walnut-rich feed), respectively. This continued for 28 days. The animals were euthanized and their sperm was collected and its parameters were analyzed. The testis was harvested and prepared for histological examination.

RESULTS

NIC significantly reduced sperm motility (P = 0.0006) and sperm count (P = 0.0001), induced mild apoptosis of Leydig cells and caused moderate spermatogenic arrest in GN₁. However, walnut-supplemented diet significantly increased the NIC-induced reduction in sperm motility (P = 0.04) and sperm count (P = 0.0001) and its consumption was effective in attenuating testicular damage caused by NIC administration in GN₁W₆ and GN₁W₁₂.

CONCLUSION

African walnut could exert therapeutic effect in the reduction of the adverse effect of NIC on the sperm motility, sperm count, and testicular architecture. It is worthwhile to consider it as a useful and affordable supplement to be added to the diet of males with infertility problems.

Nicotine Effects, Body Weight Concerns and Smoking: A Literature Review

How people become addicted to cigarette smoking and remain addicted despite repeated attempts to quit requires piecing together a rather complex puzzle. The present review contextualizes the role of nicotine and smoking sensory stimulation on maintaining smoking, describes nicotine's effects on feeding behavior and body weight, and explores the impact of smoking outcome expectancies, including the belief that nicotine suppresses appetite and body weight, on the decision to smoke or vape (use of e-cigarettes). The analysis concludes with a review of rat models of human nicotine intake that attempt to isolate the effects of nicotine on appetite and weight gain. Animal research replicates with relative closeness phenomena observed in smokers, but the rat model falls short of replicating the long-term weight gain observed post-smoking cessation.