Microstructural analysis of the ingestive behavior of the rat ingesting polycose.

A microstructural analysis of the ingestive behavior of rats ingesting seven concentrations of Polycose, was undertaken in an attempt to understand how this complex mix of mono-, di-, and polysaccharides controls their ingestive behavior. In every respect, the pattern of results resembled those obtained using mono- and disaccharides. Over a concentration range of 0.6% to 40%, the volume ingested was a nonmonotonic function of concentration, the duration of the meal was a linear decreasing function of concentration, the initial rate and the rate of decline of the rate of licking were increasing linear functions of the log of the concentration, cluster size was a linear increasing function of log concentration, and the proportion of short intercluster intervals increased linearly with the log of the concentration. These results support the view that the control that Polycose exerts on the ingestive behavior of the rat is very similar to that exerted by mono- and disaccharides.