Is angiotensin essential in drinking induced by water deprivation and caval ligation?

The role of the renin-angiotensin system in drinking induced by water deprivation and caval ligation was assessed by infusion of saralasin into the lateral ventricles of rats. This technique was first validated by demonstrating its capability to specifically antagonize drinking to both systemic and central angiotensin II. However, neither the latency to drink nor the amount of water consumed following 24- or 30-h water deprivation was affected by saralasin. Furthermore, saralasin had no significant effect on the recovery of blood pressure or on the water intake following ligation of the abdominal vena cava. These observations suggest that the renin-angiotensin system alone does not play an essential role in the control of drinking following water deprivation or caval ligation in rats.