Effects of Histamine and H1- and H2-Receptor Blocker on Food Intake, Food Passage Rate and in situ Nutrient Uptake from the Small Intestine of Chicken (Gallus domestics)

To implicate histamine and its receptors in feed intake and nutrient transport, White Leghorn cockerels of the same age and body weight were grouped randomly into six groups. The first group was injected intraperitoneally with histamine (30mg/kg/body weight) for five consecutive days (equally 3 times within 24h). Similarly the second group was treated with H1-receptor blocker at the rate of 60mg/kg body weight; the third was with histamine on priming with H1 blocker as above; the fourth was with H2 blocker at the rate of H1; the fifth was with histamine primed with H2 blocker as above; and the sixth was sham-treated control. Histamine suppressed feed intake (P