Method of regulating appetite and efficiency of food utilization employing interferon

Abstract

The appetite of a warm-blooded vertebrate can be regulated by administering to the vertebrate a biological active fraction of interferon in an amount effective to modulate the vertebrate's food intake or efficiency in utilizing food. The appetite of a cow can be stimulated by the oral or intravenous administration of bovine fibroblast interferon or by interferon secreted nasally by the cow in response to inoculation with a vaccinal virus strain such as that of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus. The appetite of swine can be enhanced by oral administration of bovine fibroblast interferon.