Mineralocorticoids, dietary conditions, and sodium appetite

The present experiments show that desoxycorticosterone-, aldosterone-, and furosemide-induced sodium deficiency will elicit a sodium appetite in rats raised either on a high sodium diet or on a normal sodium diet. Rats were injected for 2 consecutive days with either desoxycorticosterone (5.0 or 10.0 mg/100 g body weight), aldosterone (0.5 and 0.75 mg/100 g body weight), and furosemide (10.0 mg/100 g body weight). The results provide evidence against the theory that mineralocorticoid-induced sodium appetite is contingent upon prior associations between body sodium deficiency and elevated endogenous mineralocorticoid levels.