Abstract
Inositol was found by Gavin and McHenry 1 to prevent the development of a special type of biotin fatty liver, but no such lipotropic activity was demonstrated against thiamin fatty livers. Abels et at. 2 found that inositol accounted for the lipotropic property of a lipocaic preparation when given to patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Inositol administered preoperatively, reduced the average concentration of fat to 46% of that of almost uniformly fatty infiltrated livers of untreated patients. Shay 3 could demonstrate no reduction in the size of fatty livers in diabetics nor any changes in the blood cholesterol by the daily administration of 1.2 g of inositol. However, Russakoff and Blumberg 4 reported reduction in the blood cholesterol and cure by inositol in doses of 1 g per day, in a patient with a diermatological condition associated with a disturbed fat metabolism.
Further studies seemed to be in order and inositol was therefore subjected to animal experimental studies similar to those made with other lipotropic substances. 5
Two series of old hens from high egg-producing stock were individually caged and given the standard high-fat laying mash (Purina). Blood was withdrawn from 16, and later 7 more, hens for the determination of control levels of total cholesterol, cholesterol esters, total and inorganic phosphorous levels by the methods of Bloor, 6 Bloor and Knudson, 7 and King, 8 respectively.
Inositol, 0.5 g was then added to the diet, and put down the gullet of each hen daily. All the birds were healthy throughout the experiment. After 25 days blood was again removed for the chemical studies and at the sacrifice after 30 days in 7 hens and after 62 days in 16 hens. The aorta and approximately 0.25 g of heart muscle and a similar mass of liver were removed, weighed accurately and macerated with sand and extracted with ether alcohol.
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