Inhibition of thermogenic drinking by beta-adrenergic antagonists.

The thirst induced by transfer of rats from air at 5 degrees C to air at 25 degrees C (thermogenic drink) was inhibited by d,1-, but not d-propranolol (6 mg/kg body weight) administered 0.5 h prior to removal from cold. The thermogenic drink was not inhibited by a similar administration of the beta1-adrenergic antagonist, practolol (50 and 150 mg/kg body weight), but was inhibited by the beta2-adrenergic antagonist, butoxamine (35 mg/kg body weight). The results are consistent with the suggestion that beta2-adrenergic receptors play a role in mediation of the thermogenic drink in rats.