Intragastric infusion of glucose enhances the rewarding effect of sorbitol fatty acid ester ingestion as measured by conditioned place preference in mice.

We investigated substances that induce a rewarding effect during the postingestive process using the conditioned place preference (CPP) test. Although mice showed high affinity for a low-energy fat substitute--sorbitol fatty acid esters and low-concentration linoleic acid solution--they did not exhibit a place preference toward a voluntary intake of fat substitute in the CPP test. However, during a conditioning session of CPP that involved intragastric administration of corn oil immediately before the intake of the fat substitute, the test mice displayed a place preference. Similarly, intragastric administration of glucose, galactose, and dextrin also induced CPP; however, fructose, mannose, and a nonmetabolized carbohydrate did not. These results suggest that administration of corn oil and glucose has the same postingestive effect with regard to inducing CPP and that the structural specificity of carbohydrates influences the postingestive effect.