Corticotropin inhibits food intake in rats

The synthetic corticotropin ACTH (1-24) (tetracosactide), injected into a brain lateral ventricle after a 24h starvation period or into the ventromedial hypothalamus during the nocturnal feeding phase, markedly inhibited food intake, in rats. In starved rats, the dose of 4 micrograms/rat was maximally effective and reduced food intake by 76.6% during the first hour after treatment. The same dose, injected into the ventromedial hypothalamus, significantly inhibited food intake also in normally fed rats during the nocturnal phase (58.6% reduction during the 90 minutes of observation). These findings suggest that corticotropin may play a role in the central control of appetite.