Abstract
Rationale
Flavors can alter the orosensory properties of tobacco products. Specifically, flavors can serve as an oral cue for smokeless tobacco products.
Objectives
We aimed to investigate the impact of oral vanillin, the principal chemical of vanilla flavor in tobacco products, on nicotine’s taste, and nicotine choice, intake, and seeking behaviors.
Methods
Experiments were performed in young adult Sprague Dawley rats. We employed a two-bottle free-choice test (2BC) to measure the preference for different concentrations of vanillin and its effect on nicotine preference. To explore the long-term effects of early exposure to sweetened vanillin, we utilized a combined 2BC and intraoral self-administration (IOSA) model. We assessed the nicotine taking and seeking behaviors in the presence or absence of vanillin. We performed a taste reactivity test (TRT) to quantify liking (ingestive) and disliking (aversive) taste responses to oral nicotine with or without vanillin.
Results
In 2BC, female rats preferred vanillin containing solutions more than their male counterparts. In IOSA, vanillin alone and in combination with nicotine led to greater IOSA compared to water. Female rats self-administered vanillin plus nicotine more than male rats. Vanillin increased motivation to nicotine taking, but only in females. In TRT, vanillin increased nicotine’s ingestive responses but blocked aversive responses in both sexes.
Conclusions
These results indicate that vanilla flavor can increase oral nicotine intake. It can also increase liking and decrease disliking of nicotine’s taste. Furthermore, the impact of vanilla flavor on nicotine taste and nicotine choice, intake, and seeking behaviors is concentration and sex dependent.
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Acknowledgements
We extend our sincere appreciation to Dr. Ralitza Gueorguieva, Director of Biostatistics in Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, for their vital contribution to the robust statistical analysis, enhancing the quality of this article.
Funding
This work was supported by grant number [U54DA036151] from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) and the State of Connecticut, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the NIH, the FDA, or the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services or the State of Connecticut.
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Supplementary Material 1: Fig. 1 Randomization in two-bottle choice paradigm experiments. Fig. 2 active and inactive lever press in Vanillin intraoral self-administration Active and inactive lever presses per hour over 15 days of self-administration of water (A, B), vanillin (10 µg/ml) (C, D), and vanillin (100 µg/ml) (E, F) in female and male rats. Data were expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) of n = 7/sex/group. *p < 0.05 indicates main effects of test solution. Fig. 3 active and inactive lever press in vanillin and nicotine intraoral self-administration Active and inactive lever presses per hour over 15 days of self-administration of water (A, B), vanillin (10 µg/ml) (C, D), nicotine (10 µg/ml) (E, F), and vanillin + nicotine (G, H), for (A) female and (B) male rats. Data were expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) of n = 8–11/sex/group. * p < 0.05 indicates main effects of test solution.
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Bagdas, D., Zepei, A.M., Harris, L. et al. Impact of vanilla flavor on nicotine taste, choice, intake, and seeking behaviors. Psychopharmacology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-024-06630-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-024-06630-9