THE EFFECT OF ADRENALECTOMY IN RATS ON URINARY NON-PROTEIN NITROGEN DURING FORCED-FEEDING AND DURING FASTING

Abstract

In expt. 1, [male] rats were adapted to the forced-feeding of a medium carbohydrate diet. These animals were given saline to drink during all phases of the expt. Eight rats were adrenalectomized and 7 were sham-operated. During the first post-operative day, the adrenalectomized rats excreted less N; by the 3rd day there was a rise which was sustained for several days and was greater in the adrenalectomized rats than in the controls. During 2 wks. of post-operative feeding, the urinary N of the adrenalectomized group did not decrease significantly below the pre-operative level of that of the control group. During a 10-day fast, the adrenalectomized animals excreted as much urinary N as their controls. In expt. 2, a medium protein diet was force-fed to 7 pairs of rats. The other conditions were identical with expt. 1. The results paralleled those of expt. 1 up to the last 2 days of fasting when the N loss by the sham-operated rats was definitely higher than that of the adrenalectomized rats.