Antihistaminic drugs increase feeding, while histidine suppresses feeding in rats.

The present studies tested the hypothesis that histamine blockade stimulates appetite, while increases in histamine levels suppress appetite. Results show that the classical antihistamines cyproheptadine and promethazine both produced significant and long-lasting increases in food intake. Pronounced appetite stimulation was also seen following the administration of doxepin, the most potent antihistamine among the antidepressants. In contrast, administration of the histamine precursor histidine produced a profound suppression in food intake. The results thus suggest that an inverse relationship may exist between histamine and food intake.