Abstract
The observations of Blotner and Murphy 1 , 2 seemed to indicate that certain aqueous liver extracts, as well as liver itself, contain a substance which, when given by mouth, reduces the insulin requirement of diabetic patients. More recently, de Pencier, Soskin and Best 3 stated that the findings of Blotner and Murphy were not substantiated by observations on depancreatized dogs. In all of the work done by both of the above groups, calves' liver was used. The fact that chickens and ducks do not develop a typical Von Mering-Minkowski diabetes 4-8 suggested that chicken liver be tried instead of calves' liver. At the same time it seemed to be desirable to repeat the work of de Pencier, Soskin and Best.
Two dogs were totally depancreatized. Two accurately weighed meals were fed each day, the hour being constant at all times. Urine was collected at exactly the same time every day, and quantitative sugar determinations were made by the Benedict method. Minced calf-pancreas was added to the diet. Insulin was given hypodermically before each meal, the dog being standardized to a dosage of insulin which allowed the excretion of a small amount of sugar.
The liver (200 gm.) was added to the control meal, the theory being that if the liver were sufficiently effective to warrant positive results, it would be able to take care of itself as regards its potential carbohydrate content. The control meal consisted of 200 gm. lean meat, 200 gm. calves' pancreas, and 250 cc. of whole milk, and yielded 756 calories. The addition of the liver to this diet gave it a calorific value of 1050. The lean meat used was the same throughout, a large stock being on hand.
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