Effects of estradiol benzoate on the pattern of eating and ethanol consumption.

The effects of daily injections of 5 microgram estradiol benzoate (EB) on the patterns of food and ethanol consumption were studied in ovarectomized rats given free access to food, a 10% ethanol solution, and water. EB led to an immediate, but transient, suppression of both food and ethanol intake. The time course and magnitude of these effects were virtually identical. While the decrease in total food intake was achieved by a permanent decrease in the duration of eating bouts, the decline in total ethanol consumption apparently resulted from decreased rates of licking within bouts. Gradual increases in the frequency of eating and ethanol-drinking bouts allowed total food and ethanol intake to return to baseline within three weeks of the first injection. Total water intake rose three-fold during EB administration and this was due to increases in both the duration and frequency of drinking bouts. The similarity in effects induced by EB on the patterns of food and ethanol intake were discussed in terms of ethanol's caloric property.