Altered preferences for sucrose, sodium chloride, urea and hydrochloric acid solutions in an animal model of cholestatic liver disease.

Preferences for sucrose, sodium chloride (NaCl), urea and hydrochloric acid (HCl) solutions (representing sweet, salty, bitter and sour stimuli) were examined in rats with bile duct ligation using 24-hr two-bottle choice tests. Preferences in bile duct ligated rats for sucrose and NaCl solutions were decreased relative to control animals in the initial stages following ligation (Days 1-5) and then increased in the later stages (Days 11-20). Preferences for both HCl and urea solutions were decreased briefly compared to control animals but showed no consistent pattern. The results provide the first demonstration for altered ingestive behavior in an animal model of liver disease and suggest that the bile duct ligated rat may be useful in studying mechanisms of chemosensory disturbances in human liver disease.