Capsaicin pretreatment attenuates suppression of food intake by cholecystokinin
Ritter, R.C.; Ladenheim, E.E.
American Journal of Physiology 248(4 Pt 2): R501-R504
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9513 PMID: 3985191 Document Number: 261564
Capsaicin, the pungent principle in red pepper, has been shown to damage small-diameter peptide-containing sensory neurons. Suppression of feeding by cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) was attenuated after systemic pretreatment with capsaicin in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Capsaicin pretreatment did not attenuate suppression of food intake by intragastric preloads. Pretreatment of rats with mu g quantities of capsaicin injected into the fourth ventricle, near the sites of vagal afferent termination, also attenuated CCK-8-induced suppression of food intake. The results suggest that the satiety-inducing effects of CCK-8 are mediated at least in part by capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons.