Differential effects of citalopram on the intake of high fat or high carbohydrates diets in female and male rats

ABSTRACT

Chronic administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), usually prescribed as antidepressants, decreases total energy intake; however, at present the differential effect on the intake of distinct macronutrients and on female vs. male organisms is not clear. On this basis, female and male adult Wistar rats were exposed to two types of diets: (1) a standard balanced diet (BD); or (2) two types of diets simultaneously, (a) one high in carbohydrates (HC); the other (b) high in fat (HF). Both study groups were given a dose of 10 mg/kg/day i.p. of citalopram or a vehicle for 21 days. Food and water consumption and body weight were recorded daily at baseline (BL), during treatment (TX), and post-treatment (PTx1-PTx2). The male rats exposed to BD reduced total energy consumption during treatment with citalopram, but body weight gain decreased both females and males compared to BL. During exposure to the two types of diets, citalopram treatment reduced fat consumption with respect to BL and PTx1 only in the male group. This group also decreased its total energy consumption during TX compared to PTx1. Finally, the females gained less body weight in TX than PTx1, while weight gain in the males during TX decreased with respect to BL and PTx1. Results show a differential effect of citalopram on females vs. males that was dependent on the type of macronutrient administered.

KEYWORDS:

• Citalopram
• sex differences
• serotonin
• high-fat diet
• high-carbohydrate diet
• palatable diets

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The authors declare that data associated with the present paper only are available for Nutritional Neuroscience Journal under request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amparo L. De la Fuente-Reynoso

Amparo Leticia de la Fuente Reynoso Ph.D. Dr. de la Fuente-Reynoso is clinical dietician in Guadalajara, México, and has been practicing for 12 years. She obtained the Ph.D. in the Instituto de Neurociencias at the Universidad de Guadalajara in 2020 and she expertise field is focused to eating behavior, appetite traits and mechanisms that explain how high fat or high carbohydrates diets contribute to obesity. In 2008, she received the national award from de Asociación Mexicana de Miembros de Facultades y Escuelas de Nutrición (AMMFEN) for best nutrition research of the year. She has participated in several national and international congresses, has been member of examining committee in Postgraduate thesis, and she published a book titled “Recetas mexicanas saludables para revertir la prediabetes y prevenir el azúcar alta”. Edited by UISESS/Yakult/IMSS in 2012.

Eliana Barrios De Tomasi

Eliana Barrios De Tomasi Ph.D. In 1995, she began her scientific career as an assistant in the Pharmacology and Behavior Laboratory of the Institute of Neurosciencience at the Universidad de Guadalajara.She studied Food Chemistry at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and in 2008 she obtained the Ph.D. in Behavioral Sciences, Neurosciences option at the Universidad de Guadalajara. Initially she worked with alcohol addiction and the effect on the administration of various antagonists and hormones but from 2012 to date her studies have been directed towards eating behavior, specifically on food addiction in rich fats and carbohydrates meals in adult rat, as well as, she studies the effect of maternal malnutrition on the consumption of palatable foods in rat breeding.She has several scientific articles published in prestigious journals, several chapters in scientific books and she has a significant number of citations to her works in various scientific journals. The results of their research have been presented in academic forums of recognized prestige.

Jorge Juárez

Jorge Juárez Ph.D. Dr. Juárez received the Master’s Degree in Psychobiology in 1990 and the Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences in 1994 at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He is Full-time Researcher, Chief of the Farmacología y Conducta laboratory and Professor at the Institute of Neuroscience, University of Guadalajara, since 1994. He has more than 70 scientific publications among articles, chapters and books as editor. His research is devoted to the study of neurophysiological mechanisms involved in behavioural disorders, mainly that related to addiction. Dr. Juárez has been Research Coordinator and member of the Editorial Council in his institution. Currently, he is president of the Ethics Committee and Director of the Instituto de Neurociencias at Universidad de Guadalajara and he has the highest meritorious level in the National System of Researchers, CONACyT, México.