Abstract
There have been many conflicting reports concerning the toxicity of irradiated products. This report covers the work of 4 years throughout which we endeavored to follow procedures which closely resemble the clinical administration of these irradiated products. We used a commercial product prepared and furnished to us by Mead Johnson and Company.
All materials were reassayed by us for vitamin D potency by the McCollum line-test. We also studied the blood calcium and phosphorus of representative animals at various stages. Our high dosages of irradiated ergosterol varied from 100 × to 465,000 × the therapeutic dose. All animals were carefully weighed and observed for their behavior. A record of the matings and condition of all litters was kept. All animals sacrificed or found dead were carefully autopsied and microscopic sections made of the thyroid, thymus, aorta, heart, lungs, liver, stomach, duodenum, spleen, kidneys, and gonads.
In summarizing our results we can say that: 1. Special, very potent commercial preparations of irradiated ergosterol were standardized by the McCollum line-test and found to possess the claimed activity. 2. Ten adult albino rats on stock diet plus 100 to 800 × the therapeutic dose for 36 weeks were without observable harmful effects. 3. The progeny, consisting of 48 second, 35 third, 4 fourth, 18 fifth, and 12 sixth generation rats, were placed on the same stock diet plus doses up to 50,000 × the curative dose without observing harmful effects. The sixth generation animals were treated for 18 weeks, all the others for longer periods. 4. Pure ergosterol was irradiated in the solid form by a Cooper-Hewitt mercury arc lamp and fed to albino rats and their offspring in amounts up to 25,000 × the curative dose for 10 to 23 weeks without harmful effects. 5.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.