Soluble sulfhydryl changes in dietary and environmental stress

Abstract

The protein sulfhydryl (PSH) and nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH) interrelationships in liver were studied in rats fed stock, protein-free and methionine-deficient diets, and then exposed to cold stress. In stress, the NPSH levels decreased in the stock fed animals, but significantly increased in the dietary deficiency states. Contrariwise, the PSH levels were, in all cases, significantly increased in stress. The major NPSH changes were confined to glutathione. The point is made that these results are analogous to the nitrogen balance phenomena found in the well nourished and the malnourished animal in stress. NPSH formation during recovery from a protein-deficient diet overshoots previous levels by about 35%.