Effect of Food Administration on Lipogenesis in Normal and Adrenalectomized Rats

¹ From the Department of Biochemistry, Medical Research Institute, Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, Illinois

Normal and adrenalectomized rats were either force fed or allowed to eat ad libitum a high carbohydrate diet for 3–4 weeks. The food intake of the force-fed groups was adjusted so that the rate of weight gain of the normal animals was equal to that of normal rats eating ad libitum. During the last 2 days of life, C¹⁴-labeled sodium acetate was included in the diet and its rate of incorporation into body fat was measured. The results reveal that under these conditions, the force-fed adrenalectomized rat gained weight at the same rate as normal force-fed controls. Furthermore, the adrenal steroid deficient animal fed in this manner contained amounts of body fat and incorporated C¹⁴ into the lipid moiety in quantities that did not differ from those of force-fed normal rats. By contrast, the adrenalectomized rat eating ad libitum gained less weight, contained less body fat but incorporated more C¹⁴ into his fat fraction than normal controls. We conclude that in the well nourished state, no deviation from normal in lipogenesis exists in the animal lacking his adrenal glands.