864 XTV. NUTRITIONAL VALT'E OF FATS 



with increasing- iodine numl)ers such as coconut oil (29%), lard (7")%), 

 oleic acid (80%), and corn oil (100%). When sunflower seed oil was 

 partially hjalrogenated, the pronounced toxic and diabetogenic action 

 was reduced.'"'- It was concluded that a marked and direct correlation 

 exists between the iodine number of the fat fed and the diabetogenic effect 

 of the alloxan. In general, high-fat diets containing primarily satm^ated 

 fatt}^ acids had a marked protective action against the toxic and diabeto- 

 genic effects of alloxan, as compared with high carbohydrate diets. '"'- 

 Gyorgy and Rose'"^ found that, in rats injected with alloxan, a high early 

 mortality occurred when the rations contained large amounts of lard or 

 coconut oil. The toxicity of the alloxan in these cases could be reduced 

 by supplementing the diet with tocopherol or with yeast. The condition 

 w^as not alleviated by supplements of methionine or choline, or by a higher 

 proportion of protein in the diet. 



However, the beneficial effect of certain fats against alloxan diabetes is 

 not specific, as many other compounds have been shown to fall in the same 

 category. 1"^'"^ 



In the case of rats on a high-lard diet (38%) the survival rate at seven 

 days after injection was raised from 10% for those receiving alloxan alone 

 to 88% for those given boric acid as well; in the group receiving a low- 

 fat diet, containing 3 drops of corn oil and 3 drops percomorph oil per day, 

 the survival rate at seven days was 80% for those receiving alloxan alone 

 and 100% for those given alloxan + boric acid.'-'' 



f. Thiamine Deficiency. It was discovered as early as 1929 by Evans 

 and Lepkovsk}^' that fat exhibits a sparing action on thiamine (at that time 

 called the " antineuritic vitamin B"). It was later found by Evans, 

 Lepkovsky, and Murphy"*'' that fats did not behave similarly in sparing 

 riboflavin. In a further study of this phenomenon, Banerji"*^ demon- 

 strated that rats excreted a smaller amount of bisulfite-binding substances 

 in their urine on a vitamin Bi-deficient diet, and that the presence of high 

 fat alleviated the severity of the brachycardia. It is therefore evident 

 that the thiamine-sparing action of fat is not limited to its effect in protect- 

 ing such animals against loss of weight or the development of the 



lo' P. Gvorgy and C. S. Rose, Science, 108, 716-718 (1948). 



1"^ J. S.'Dunn, J. Kirkpatrick, N. G. B. McLetchie, and S. V. Telfer, ./. Pathol. Bac- 

 teriol, 55, 245-257 (1943). 



'06 S. Banerjee, Science, 106, 128-130 (1947). 



'«« C. S. Rose and P. Gvorgy, Proc. Soc. ExpU. Biol. Med., 70, 476-749 (1949). 



"" H. M. Evans, S. Lepkovsky, and E. A. Murphy, J. Biol. Chem., 107, 443-447 

 (1934). 



'"8 G. G. Banorji, Biochem. J., 34, 1329-1333 (1940). 



