The effect of starvation, restricted feed intake and refeeding on acid phosphatase activity of the hypothalamus and frontal cerebral cortex of the rat.

Acid phosphatase (EC: 3.1.3.2) activity at the hypothalamus and frontal cerebral cortex has been studied in male rats maintained on different dietary regimes. The enzyme activity in the cerebral cortex did not undergo any observable changes in any of the experimental groups. Enzyme activity in the hypothalamus, rose after food deprivation in both acutely and chronically starved rats, while the enzyme activity returned to physiological levels in refed animals. The hypothalamus neuroendocrine role and a possible interregional heterogeneity for acid phosphatase in rat brain might explain the two enzymic activity patterns observed in the present experiment.