Effects of enterostatin (Val-Pro-Asp-Pro-Arg) on fat intake and blood levels of glucose and insulin in rats.

Enterostatin may be involved in the preference for fat and the control of fat intake. Using two different feeding patterns, we observed a change in food intake after injection of enterostatin (VPDPR) into the third ventricle. When rats were adapted to free selection choice between low fat (LF) and high fat (HF) diets, VPDPR inhibited intake of the LF diet at 100, 200 and 800 ng and inhibited intake of the HF diet at 200 ng. The dose-response of HF diet intake to VPDPR was U-shaped. However, even the optimal dose (200 ng), which reduced the intake of both LF and HF diets when both diets were given together, was not effective when the LF diet was given alone. In the present study, VPDPR has also shown to not affect plasma glucose or insulin levels. These results suggest that exogenous VPDPR may inhibit appetite when endogenous enterostatin secretion is increased by ingestion of dietary fat, and that VPDPR has a limited range of effects on feeding behavior. We support the hypothesis that the early satiety sense of VPDPR as an anorectic agent in a central site is directly related to endogenous enterostatin or procolipase levels after fat intake, but not glucose or insulin levels.