Anorexia nervosa is a debilitating
eating disorder characterized by hypophagia,
body weight loss,
amenorrhea and intense fear of
weight gain. In present study, the effect of subchronic
agmatine treatment on development of activity based
anorexia (ABA) in female rats has been investigated. Animals were injected with saline or
agmatine (10-40 mg/kg, ip) just before the onset of dark phase and shifted to experimental cage with wheel for ABA test for 10days. A pre-weighed quantity of food pellets (10g) was placed daily for a restricted period of only 2h (1700-1900h) and food intake was monitored (g) manually by weighing the leftover food. Rats restricted to ABA paradigm, showed greater wheel running, suppressed food consumption, disrupted estrous cycle and
weight loss. On the other hand, subchronic
agmatine (10-40mg/kg, ip, for 10days) treatment decreased wheel running activity, pronounced increased in food intake and restored
body weights as compared to saline treated animals. Further,
agmatine treatment decreased
corticosterone levels in ABA rats, thereby stabilizing HPA axis in ABA rats. Subchronic
agmatine treatment also prevented the disruptions of estrous cycle. Considering the common resistance of
anorexia nervosa to current
pharmacotherapy, the preliminary data on reduction of physical activity by
agmatine, may have potential therapeutic importance. Thus, the role of
agmatine in feeding behavior is likely to provide insight into the circumstances that facilitate treatment in
eating disorders like
anorexia nervosa.