Digesta Transit Time Research Articles

Manipulation effects, open-field experience and digestive transit time in Wistar male and female rats.

14 male and 16 female Wistar (DAB) 113-day-old rats were observed in an open-field situation, in their home cages after manipulation, and in home cages without manipulation. Incidences of defecation and urination, locomotor activity, and digestive transit time were recorded during 4-min. sessions for 6 days. Animals were more likely to eliminate in the open-field situation than in their home cages, and more rats eliminated in this group than in the other two groups. It appears that the effect of the open-field situation on eliminative behavior is not related to that of manipulation incident to the observation of the animal in the open field. The decrease in digestive transit time of animals placed in the open field further suggests that the open-field situation is more effective than manipulation in modifying digestive transit time.

Digestive transit time and open-field behavior of rats

Abstract Rat chow with chromic oxide was used to determine the digestive transit time of Wistar-strain derived male and female rats. Digestive transit time was defined as the time between ingestion of the treated chow and the first appearance of a significant concentration of chromic oxide in the feces of the animal. Individual transit time prior to open-field experience did not correlate with open-field defecatory behavior but open-field experience significantly decreased transit time. The open-field experience affected males and females differently. The males not placed in the open field tended to have longer transit times than the females; in the group observed in the open field the transit time of the males tended to become shorter, whereas the female transit time increased, so that male-female differences in transit time became non-significant.