Effects of eledoisin on water intake induced by subcutaneous injection of hypertonic NaCl in the rat

Intracerebroventricular administration of eledoisin, the tachykinin peptide of the salivary glands of Eledone Moschata, exerts a potent and long-lasting inhibition of water intake induced by the subcutaneous administration of hypertonic NaCl in the rat. The inhibitory effect is statistically significant up to 6 hr following eledoisin treatment, while the 24 hr water intake in control and treated rats is essentially identical. The results of the present study demonstrate that the long-lasting effect is not due to increased renal excretion of the osmotic load, nor, likely, to larger production of metabolic water. Probably, eledoisin exerts an inhibitory effect of such a long duration by means of central actions which last well beyond its half-life, or, alternatively, by promoting an increased excretion of the osmotic load through elimination routes different from the kidney