THE GROWTH AND DIETARY PATTERN OF RATS ON SELF-SELECTION DIETS FOLLOWING WHOLE-BODY IRRADIATION

Technical Report · Mon May 22 04:00:00 EDT 1961

OSTI ID:4047686

Konishi, F

The apparent ability of rats to voluntarily select a dietary according to the needs of the body was utilized in a study to detect possible metabolic derangements subsequent to a dose of 375 rad whole-body x-irradiation. The animals were allowed free choice selections of various foodstuffs offered in separate containers and the relative amounts of food intake as well as body weights were measured daily. The majority of the rats were able to select diets adequate enough to support normal growth. Upon irradiation at the level employed, rats fed a basal pre-mixed diet lost significantly more body weight than similarly treated rats selecting their own diet. In the over-all pattern, the proportion of casein selected progressively increased whereas that of sucrose decreased subsequent to the irradiation. The selections of yeast and corn oil remained essentially the same. On the third day only, after irradiation, the intake of minerals increased to over 5 times the preirradiation level. The selection and intake of casein returned to pre-irradiation levels by the third day while the total caloric intake of irradiated rats on basal and self-selected diets returned to normal levels by the 5th day. (auth)

• Research Organization: Naval Radiological Defense Lab., San Francisco
• NSA Number: NSA-15-022164
• OSTI ID: 4047686
• Report Number(s): USNRDL-TR-511
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

AMINO ACIDS
BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BODY
DIET
FOOD
IRRADIATION
MINERALS
RATS
RECOVERY
SUGARS
WEIGHT
WHOLE-BODY IRRADIATION
X RADIATION
YEASTS