Susceptibility of the Guinea Pig to Action of Alloxan as Compared with the Rat.

Abstract

The parenteral admn. of various dosages of alloxan, up to those which were fatal, failed to produce diabetes in guinea pigs. Neither glycosuria nor hyperglycemia was observed. Animals deficient in ascorbic acid, partially pan-createctomized or starved prior to alloxan admn., also failed to develop diabetes, although starvation apparently increased the toxicity of alloxan. The guinea pig is much more resistant to the diabetogenic and the toxic action of alloxan than is the rat, and the pancreatic islet cells appear no more susceptible to alloxan than the cells of several other tissues.