The time-structure of the anorectic effect of satietin.

The influence of anorectic doses of satietin, calcitonin, fenfluramine and amphetamine on the amount of food eaten, on the time elapsed before taking the first tablet (latency) and on the time-structure of food intake during a one hour feeding session, divided into four 15-minute periods, was measured in rats after one day starvation with a pellet-detecting eatometer. In contrast to fenfluramine, amphetamine significantly increased the time elapsed before taking the first tablet, indicating the stimulation of a satiety mechanism by fenfluramine and the inhibition of a feeding mechanism by amphetamine. In this test satietin and calcitonin acted like fenfluramine. The time-course of food intake was significantly different in the amphetamine and fenfluramine-treated animals, the latter ate more during the first 15-minute period. Satietin and calcitonin acted like fenfluramine in this test, too. The results are consistent with the view that satietin acts by activating a satiety mechanism.