Animal Passage Hypoglycaemia. ∗

Abstract

As the writer has never been able to duplicate the results obtained by him in connection with a study of plant extracts containing a hypoglycemia producing substance, and described as animal passage hypoglycemia, 1 he is now of the opinion that such results must have been due to an organism. The following observations are the basis for this view:

1 Attempt to purify the unknown agent in passage blood by the use of alcohol always resulted in failure.

2 The addition of tri-cresol to active passage serum as a preservative resulted in complete loss of activity.

3 The phenomenon has been reproduced on 3 different occasions during the past 3 years by using dried passage blood obtained during the original investigation, although the results have never been as clear cut as formerly obtained.

4 From blood cultures of reacting rabbits Dr. Shaw of the Department of Bacteriology of the University of Alberta has obltained an organism of the nature of a coccus, cultures of which injected into rabbits produce death with hypoglycemia. Necrotic changes of the parenchyma of the liver were also observed. Intravenous injections of such a culture produced at first a marked hyperglycemia, later the blood sugar fell and hypoglycemia was present at death. The results are somewhat similar to those described by Menten and Manning. 2 One fully realizes that such observations do not prove that the original results were due to an organism. The writer feels it his duty, however, to make this statement and to add that he sees no reason to suppose that plant insulin is different from animal insulin. The phenomenon of passage hypoglycemia is something quite apart from insulin action.