The effect of adrenal cortical preparations added in vitro upon the carbohydrate metabolism of liver slices. 1. The effect of adrenal cortical extract (eschatin) upon synthesis of glycogen and of total carbohydrate

Abstract

The action of adrenal cortical extract (added in vitro) in causing diminution of glycogen breakdown in liver slices (rat and rabbit) was confirmed. It was shown that this inhibition is absent if the incubation of the liver slices is carried out in absence of O2. It is concluded that the active principle affects the synthesis rather than the breakdown of glycogen. When total carbohydrate was estimated, a similar effect of the extract in preventing disappearance of the carbohydrate was observed. The effect is, therefore, not merely on the glycogen:glucose ratio. Under conditions where carbohydrate synthesis can be demonstrated, there was always greater increase (whether estimated as glycogen or total carbohydrate) in the presence of the extract. No effect was found on the adenosinetriphosphate level in the slices during carbohydrate synthesis in O2.