Spillage behavior and thiamin deficiency in the rat.

Food spillage, food intake and body weight of four groups of adult rats were monitored daily as they were fed varying responses of deficient, marginal, or high thiamin (B) diet. Food spillage was a more sensitive index of the dietary B1 then either food intake or body weight change. Animals fed the deficient B1 diet exhibited the greatest levels of food spillage followed by the animals fed the marginal B1 diet. Hypophagia and weight loss occurred only among animals fed the marginal B1 diet. Feeding the high B1 diet to animals previously given the deficient and marginal B1 diets completely eliminated the excessive food spillage, and food intake and body weight returned to control levels. These data support the use of spillage behavior as a useful screening tool for detecting behavioral effects of inadequate nutrient intake or chemical intoxication.