Abstract
In previous studies, we showed that carbohydrate and protein ingestion, respectively, increased and decreased hypothalamic extracellular serotonin and the plasma ratio tryptophan over its competitor amino acids (Trp/LNAAs), reflecting serotonin synthesis. Serotonin levels returned towards baseline 2 h after either meal while the ratio remained altered. The question addressed is the ability of serotonin to respond expectedly to a second meal of the alternate nutrient. Rats were fed with sequential meals of either carbohydrates first and then casein 2 h later or in reverse order. Hypothalamic serotonin was measured using microdialysis. Permanent blood sampling allowed to track in parallel plasma amino acids. A carbohydrate meal increased hypothalamic serotonin, so did a subsequent casein meal. Conversely, following a casein meal that reduced serotonin, a carbohydrate meal also decreased it. The plasma ratio Trp/LNAAs was enhanced by a carbohydrate meal and remained high for 2h. A subsequent casein meal reversed this change but the ratio remained higher than basal values. A first casein meal reduced the ratio that was not increased again by a subsequent carbohydrate meal. It is obvious that ingestion of specific nutrients induce long-lasting metabolic and neurochemical variations that prevent subsequent changes to occur. The lack of expected changes to a second meal addresses again the hypothesis of alternate appetites for carbohydrates and proteins driven by serotonin changes.