Conditioned taste aversion to saccharin induced by 2, 4, 5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid in albino rats

Four groups of Wistar rats were exposed either to saccharin + 2,4,5-T (taste-aversion group, T-A), saccharin + oil vehicle (taste-aversion control, T-A C), water + 2,4,5-T (enhanced neophobia, E-N), or water + oil (neophobia, N). Rats in the T-A group evidenced a marked aversion to saccharin in 3 consecutive preference tests, performed every third day, starting 3 days after exposure. The aversion was less pronounced, although statistically significant in 2 additional preference tests, performed respectively after a 9-day rest period of ad lib water drinking, and a 24 hr period of forced exposure to saccharin. An enhanced neophobia effect was found in the E-N group in the first preference test. Suggestions are made concerning the possible long-term effects on food preferences among wild-living animals as a result of large-scale application of 2,4,5-T-containing herbicides.