A high-throughput assay for quantifying appetite and digestive dynamics

A high throughput method to determine compounds that alter appetite, satiation or digestion in vertebrates is provided. In one embodiment a method to assay a test compound in a teleost larvae or adult is disclosed, comprising: providing a plurality of teleost larvae or adults in wells of a multi-well substrate having a food source comprising an optically detectable, ingestible, lipophilic molecule and a test compound, wherein at least one well has an individual larvae or adult; simultaneously exposing the plurality of larvae or adults to a non- laser infrared light source; and simultaneously detecting or quantifying emissions from the molecule while the teleost larvae or adult is alive and freely moving. Also disclosed, in one embodiment, is a method to detect nutrient homeostasis in a zebrafish larvae or adult, comprising: providing a plurality of live zebrafish larvae or adults in individual wells of a multi-well substrate having a food source comprising an optically detectable, ingestable, lipohilic molecule; and detecting simultaneously with an infrared macroscope the presence and/or amount of the optically detectable, lipophilic molecule in the intestine of the live, freely moving zebrafish larvae or adult, thereby detecting or quantifying intake and/or digestion rates.