Stimulation of fluid intake by maltodextrins and starch

Maltodextrin solutions are more potent stimulators of fluid intake than are starch suspensions, even though these two substances are both glucose polymers. When rats were offered a choice of two fluids, one containing maltodextrin and the other containing the same concentration of starch, rats preferred maltodextrin; this preference increased over successive days for rats given 7.4% or 10% carbohydrate but not for rats given 1% carbohydrate. Rats offered fluids containing artificial flavors mixed with maltodextrin and starch acquired preferences for flavors paired with 10% or 7.4% maltodextrin but not for flavors paired with 1% maltodextrin. In an attempt to determine whether this greater preference for maltodextrin is due to an innate flavor preference, rats were given a choice of maltodextrin containing sucrose octaacetate vs. plain starch; these rats initially preferred starch but subsequently ingested more maltodextrin flavored with sucrose octaacetate than plain starch. Direct evidence for a postingestive factor was obtained by giving rats intragastric infusions of either maltodextrin, starch, or vehicle whenever they drank a dilute saccharin solution. Both carbohydrates stimulated fluid intake, but maltodextrin did so more rapidly (within 1 day rather than the 2 days of training required with starch infusions). These results indicate that some difference in the postingestive effects of maltodextrin and starch contributes to the greater intake-stimulating effect of maltodextrin. The postingestive factor responsible for the difference between maltodextrin and starch has not been identified, but it is not the amount of utilizable energy because rats prefer maltodextrin over starch even when the starch suspension contains more calories than does the maltodextrin solution. It is proposed that the postingestive factor differentiating these substances is rate of digestion.