Regulation of Food Intake in Ruminants. 4. Effect of Acetate, Propionate, Butyrate, and Glucose on Voluntary Food Intake in Dairy Cattle

Three dairy heifers received intraperitoneal infusions (one liter) of the following solutions in a 3 3 Latin-square-designed trial: (I) 0.9% sodimn chloride (control); (II) 5.4% glucose; (III) 25% glucose. The heifers were fed a contpletely pelleted ration (60% alfalfa meal, 40% ground corn) ad libitum once daily for a 3-hr period, and the infusions were given immediately before food was offered. The food eonsmnption for Treatments I, II, and III was 62.6, 71.6, and 72.1 g/BWk~ '~, and jugular blood glucose concentration 1 hr after feeding was 50.5, 57.2, and 69.2 mg per 100 ml, respectively. It was coneluded that the glueostatie mechanism for food intake regulation is not important in ruminants.