Daily Rhythmicity of Glycemia in Four Species of Domestic Animals under Various Feeding Regimes
J Physiol Sci Vol.58, No.4 pp.271-275
Abstract: Daily rhythmicity of physiological processes has been described for numerous variables in numerous species. A major source of this rhythmicity is a circadian pacemaker located in the mammalian hypothalamus, but very little is known about how the pacemaker generates the multiplicity of bodily rhythms. Research on rats has shown that the rhythm of blood glucose concentration is not a mere consequence of the rhythm of food ingestion, but is rather generated directly by the pacemaker. In this study, we investigated the rhythm of blood glucose concentration in four different species of domestic animals under four different feeding regimes. Our results suggest that, as in rats, the rhythm of blood glucose concentration is not a mere consequence of the rhythm of food ingestion in sheep and cattle. In dogs and horses, however, the rhythmicity of blood glucose concentration seems to be contingent on the presence of a feeding regime.
Laboratorio di Cronofisiologia Veterinaria, Dipartimento di Scienze Sperimentali e Biotecnologie Applicate, Facolt di Medicina Veterinaria, Universit degli Studi di Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy refinetti@sc.edu
Copyright© 2007 by The Physiological Society of Japan