Effect of Dietary Fluoride on the Pattern of Food Intake in the Rat and the Development of a Programmed Pellet Dispenser

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Abstract
The effect of excessive amounts (200 to 600 ppm) of dietary fluoride on the amount and pattern of food consumption in the rat was investigated. Rats fed diets containing fluoride ate the same number of meals each day as did control rats, although rats fed 400 or 600 ppm fluoride ate less diet than controls. The rats fed 400 or 600 ppm fluoride spent a longer time actually consuming each meal. An apparatus is described which made it possible to subject control rats to the abnormal dietary intake pattern which was observed in rats receiving the high fluoride diets. Using this programmed pellet dispenser, it was observed that the drop in liver glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase noted in rats fed fluoride could be duplicated in control animals, whereas a conventional type of “pair-fed” control group showed no significant change in the activity of this enzyme. These studies indicated that the effect of fluoride in depressing the activity of this liver enzyme was therefore secondary to its effect on food intake. This apparatus would have similar utility in studying any dietary condition where food intake is altered.