Vitamin Requirements of Nursing Young. IX. Effect of Vitamin B Deficiency on Glycogen Content of Liver of Nursing Young of Albino Rat. ∗

Abstract

In this study we have employed 50 nurslings, 29 control and 21 pathological. The animals were sacrificed by cutting both carotid arteries with a sharp scissors. The vagus nerves were also severed and death occurred almost instantaneously. The chemical method used for determination of glycogen of the livers was one kindly furnished us by Dr. C. F. Cori, which is a modification of the Pflueger method 1 used by Cori and Cori in their studies on “The Fate of Sugar in the Animal Body.” 2 In the case of normal animals and those animals whose livers contained appreciable amounts of glycogen, the Folin-Wu method 3 of determining apparent sugars was used. In cases where the livers contained very small amounts of glycogen we substituted the Folin micro-ferricyanide method. 4 The glycogen content of the livers was expressed in terms of glucose, i. e., total reducing sugars.

It was found that the glycogen content of the livers of the nurslings on maternal stock diet No. 1, 5 which is the control ration, varied from 1300 to 1600 mg. of glucose per 100 gm. of liver. On the other hand, the glycogen content of the livers of the polyneuritic nursing young 6 showed a range of 20 to 110 mg. of glucose per 100 gm. of liver. Expressed per 100 gm. of body weight, the glycogen content of the control animals showed a range of 45 to 56 mg. of glucose; whereas, the pathological group showed a range of 0.8 to 6.2 mg. of glucose. The marked decrease in the glycogen content of the liver is the most pronounced chemical change we have found to date in nursing young suffering from uncomplicated vitamin B deficiency.