Abstract
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1.
The influence of noradrenaline on regional blood flow was determined using radioactive microspheres in rats maintained on either stock diet or a palatable cafeteria diet.
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2.
Cardiac output and blood flow to brain, lungs, liver and skeletal muscle were similar for rats on the two diets.
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3.
Blood flow to total dissectable brown adipose tissue in control and cafeteria rats represented 1 and 2% of cardiac output respectively but these values rose to 7 and 15.5% during infusion of noradrenaline.
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4.
Arterial oxygen content was similar for all groups but the oxygen content of venous blood draining the interscapular brown adipose tissue fell to 6 ml O2/100 ml blood in control rats and 1 ml/100 ml in cafeteria rats after noradrenaline.
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5.
The total oxygen consumption of brown adipose tissue was calculated and found to account for 42% of the response to noradrenaline in control rats and 74% in cafeteria animals. The increments in the oxygen consumption of other tissues were almost identical in both groups and so all the diet-induced changes in thermogenic capacity can be attributed to increases in brown adipose tissue metabolism.
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6.
These findings demonstrate the quantitative importance of brown adipose tissue in diet-induced thermogenesis and confirm the similarities between diet and non-shivering thermogenesis.
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Rothwell, N.J., Stock, M.J. Influence of noradrenaline on blood flow to brown adipose tissue in rats exhibiting diet-induced thermogenesis. Pflugers Arch. 389, 237–242 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00584784
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00584784