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DIURNAL VARIATION IN OXYGEN CONSUMPTION OF LABORATORY RATS
Author(s) -
Maxwell GM,
Smyth C,
Harvey G,
Crompton Silvia
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
australian journal of experimental biology and medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0004-945X
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1985.8
Subject(s) - cafeteria , morning , diurnal temperature variation , zoology , nocturnal , circadian rhythm , oxygen , endocrinology , chemistry , biology , medicine , atmospheric sciences , physics , pathology , organic chemistry
Summary Oxygen consumption (VO 2 ) was measured in Porton albino rats using a closed circuit apparatus. The groups studied were controls, cold‐adapted animals, and those which had accumulated brown adipose tissue as a result of a cafeteria diet with a high energy content. It was possible to show in each group studied a difference in VO 2 according to the time of day at which it was measured. This was consistent within each group studied. The diurnal variation shown (higher in the morning than in the afternoon) is characteristic of nocturnal animals. Measurement of VO 2 then must be made within the same time‐period or integrated over 24 h. Spurious correlations may otherwise occur.