Satiating effect of fat in diabetic rats: gastrointestinal and postabsorptive factors

Streptozotocin-diabetic rats decrease food intake more than normal animals in response to a fat test meal. To determine the physiological basis of this differential response, we examined the effects of an ingested corn oil meal on food intake, gastrointestinal fill, and plasma triglycerides, glycerol, and ketone bodies. Hyperphagic diabetic rats decreased intake of a high-carbohydrate, low-fat stock diet starting 2-4 h after the fat meal, whereas normal rats did not. Gastric emptying was accelerated and intestinal mass and contents were increased in diabetic rats. The fat meal reduced gastric emptying and increased stomach contents in diabetic and normal rats starting within 2 h of ingestion. Intestinal fill decreased in diabetic animals after the oil meal. Triglycerides and glycerol increased transiently after fat ingestion in normal and diabetic rats, whereas ketone body concentrations rose only in diabetic rats starting 1-3 h after fat ingestion. The results indicate that the differential effect of a fat meal on food intake in normal and diabetic rats is related to differences in the postabsorptive metabolism of the ingested fat rather than to effects of fat feeding on gastrointestinal fill or clearance.