Rats prefer condensed milk to strawberry jam - a new possibility for voluntary oral drug administration

Lab Anim. 2023 Sep 15:236772231194389. doi: 10.1177/00236772231194389. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Voluntary oral drug administration using sweet substances promotes rodents' therapeutic compliance while reducing stress induced by forced drug administration. We aimed to test whether rats would willingly eat strawberry jam or condensed milk from a syringe, and which one they would prefer. Our results show that rats prefer condensed milk, demonstrating its potential as a vehicle for the voluntary oral administration of drugs in experimental protocols.

Keywords: Refinement; condensed milk; oral drug administration; rat; strawberry jam; voluntary ingestion.