Premium
Effects of central administration of glucagon on feed intake and endocrine responses in sheep
Author(s) -
KUROSE Yohei,
KAMISOYAMA Hiroshi,
HONDA Kazuhisa,
AZUMA Yoshiyuki,
SUGAHARA Kunio,
HASEGAWA Shin,
KOBAYASHI Shigeki
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
animal science journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.606
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1740-0929
pISSN - 1344-3941
DOI - 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2009.00685.x
Subject(s) - endocrine system , glucagon , administration (probate law) , medicine , endocrinology , insulin , hormone , political science , law
This study was conducted to investigate effects of glucagon intracerebroventricularly administered on feed intake and endocrine changes in sheep. Four male sheep (48–55 kg BW) were used. The animals were acclimatized to be fed alfalfa hay cubes at 12.00 hour. Human glucagon (40 and 80 µg/0.5 mL) was injected into the lateral ventricle at 12.00 hour. Blood samples were taken every 10 min from 30 min before to 180 min after the glucagon injection. Soon after the injection, the animals were given alfalfa hay cubes, and the amounts of the feed eaten within 2 h were measured. Feed intakes were significantly ( P < 0.05) suppressed by 80 µg of glucagon. Plasma glucose levels in control animals were gradually decreased after the feeding, whilst those in glucagon‐treated animals were temporarily elevated just after the feeding and then kept higher than control levels. Plasma insulin was abruptly elevated after the feeding and was maintained at higher levels than before the feeding in all treatments. Plasma NEFA concentrations were decreased after the feeding in all treatments. A tendency of increase in plasma cortisol levels occurred in glucagon‐injected animals. The present study provides the first evidence that glucagon directly acts on the brain, then inhibiting feeding behavior and inducing endocrine responses in ruminants.