Angiotensin and salt appetite: Physiological amounts of angiotensin given peripherally increase salt appetite in the rat.

In 2 experiments, adrenalectomized male Sprague-Dawley rats were maintained ad lib on distilled water, 3% saline, and sodium-free food. In Exp I, 45 Ss were given desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA [.1–2 mg/kg/day, intramuscularly]) for 5 days to determine the dose of DOCA that would produce the lowest voluntary saline intake, and 800 μg/kg/day was found to produce the nadir in saline intake. In Exp II, 40 Ss were placed ad lib on distilled water, saline, and sodium-free food as described above, maintained on 800 μg/kg/day DOCA, and infused with 4, 25, or 100 μg/kg/day angiotensin II (AII) or 0.9% saline. The 3 AII groups showed significant percentage changes in their saline intake above pre-AII levels; the saline control group showed no change in saline intake from pre-AII level. Results demonstrate the production of salt appetite in rats by peripheral administration of physiological doses of AII. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)