Abstract
Summary
Control rats and rats injected subcutaneously twice a day with a dose of 300 μg/kg of noradrenaline or adrenaline suspended in olive oil were used. After 28 days of treatment, blood glucose, lactic acid, and plasma free fatty acid (FFA) levels were measured in response to noradrenaline or adrenaline (300 μg/kg in saline). In the control rats, it was found that the effect of noradrenaline is more pronounced on FFA levels, while the effect of adrenaline is greater on glucose and lactic acid levels. These responses on the whole, were diminished in animals treated chronically with either noradrenaline or adrenaline. In view of the enhanced oxygen consumption response to noradrenaline or adrenaline in noradrenaline-treated rats which was previously reported, it seems that the lower levels of FFA and glucose obtained, following the same treatment, could indicate an enhanced utilization of those substrates. It is also possible, since catecholamines are known to inhibit insulin liberation, that chronic treatment with catecholamines produces a preferentially enhanced lipid rather than glucose utilization in response to noradrenaline or adrenaline.
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