Animal Husbandry and Feed Science ›› 2020, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1): 1-6.doi: 10.12160/j.issn.1672-5190.2020.01.001

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Effects of RFRP-3 on Feeding Behavior and Growth Performance of Rats

HUO Kong-lin1, ZHANG Duo-ni1, SONG Xing-xing1, HU Wen1, ZHANG Xin1, ZUO Jian-yu1,2, LUO Rong-rong1, XU Wen-hao1, CHEN Lei1, LI Xun1   

  1. 1.College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China;
    2.Institute of Animal Health Supervision of Guangxi ASEAN Economic and Technological Development Zone, Nanning 530105, China
  • Received:2019-11-07 Online:2020-01-30 Published:2020-03-05

Abstract: In order to investigate the effect of RFRP-3 on the feeding behavior and growth performance of rats, a total of 30 clean-grade SD rats with similar weight were selected and randomly assigned into the following three groups: a control group received a 200 μL saline solution per rat per time by intraperitoneal injection, a low-dose RFRP-3 treatment group received the 200 μL RFRP-3 solution with concentration of 1 μg/100 μL per rat per time by intraperitoneal injection, and a high-dose RFRP-3 treatment group received the 200 μL RFRP-3 solution with concentration of 10 μg/100 μL per rat per time by intraperitoneal injection. There were 10 rats in each group with half male and half female. All of the experimental rats received intraperitoneal injection twice daily for consecutive 14 days. During the whole experimental period, the feed intake, feeding behavior and body weight of the experimental rats were observed and recorded; the feed to gain ratio and Lee index were calculated, the serum was isolated from the blood samples, the blood lipid related indicators were determined, and the expression level of hypothalamus appetite related factors was assessed. The results showed that compared with the control group, the intraperitoneal injection of high dose RFRP-3 resulted in an extremely significant (P<0.01)increase in feed intake in rats in light-environment, and the feeding behavior was mainly manifested in a extremely significant (P<0.01) increase in feeding frequency and an obvious decrease in satiety; in terms of growth performance, the RFRP-3 treatment groups had a very significant (P<0.01) increase in body weight and a significant (P<0.05) reduction in feed to gain ratio; for obesity indexes, the Lee index of the rats was increased significantly (P<0.05) after receiving the intraperitoneal injection of RFRP-3, and the serum contents of triglycerides and total cholesterol were also very significantly (P<0.01) increased; the expression level of NPY mRNA in the hypothalamus in RFRP-3 treatment groups was increased significantly (P<0.05), while that of POMC mRNA was decreased significantly (P<0.05). In conclusion, intraperitoneal injection of RFRP-3 can improve the feeding behavior and growth performance of rats, and this physiological function may be achieved via regulating the appetite-related factors in hypothalamus.

Key words: rat, RFRP-3, feeding behavior, growth performance, NPY, POMC

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