Taste reactivity responses in rats: influence of sex and the estrous cycle

Gonadal hormones (e.g., estradiol) may regulate feeding by producing a shift in the taste or palatability of food items. This study examined the impact of endogenous gonadal hormones on palatability by investigating sex differences in taste responsivity, as well as the effect of the estrous cycle on taste responsivity, in a rodent model. In the taste reactivity test, male and female Long-Evans rats received a brief (1 min) intraoral infusion of one of three tastants: sucrose (0.3 M), quinine (0.0003 M), and a sucrose-quinine mixture (0.3 M sucrose and 0.0003 M quinine). Statistical analyses indicated that female rats tested during diestrus or proestrus produced significantly more ingestive responses than did male rats and fewer aversive responses than did both male rats and female rats tested during estrus or metestrus (P < 0.05). These results indicate a sex difference in taste responsivity in the rat that is modulated by the reproductive status of female rats. This finding implies a role of gonadal hormones in the regulation of taste responsivity in the rat.