Some particularities of sodium nitroprusside stimulatory effects on food intake.

It was previously shown that sodium nitroprusside (NP) stimulates food (FI) and water (WI) intakes when injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) in male rats deprived for 1-h of both food and water during day time. The present work shows that: 1) intramuscular NP increased only water intake; 2) when NP was i.p. injected simultaneously without 1-h deprivation it slightly reduced both intakes in the first 30 min but stimulated significantly FI between 30 and 60 min, and 3) it increased significantly FI even in absence of available water, while WI in absence of food was practically not affected. In conclusion NP effect on FI does originate mainly in the splanchnic area, it requires a latency of about 30 min, and stimulation of FI by NP triggers an increase in WI and not the other way around.