EFFECT OF DEFICIENCY IN ANIMALS 



in the treatment of fatty livers produced by aneurine and partially 

 effective in the treatment of cholesterol fatty livers, it was said to have 

 little effect on fatty livers produced by beef liver ^ or biotin.^° Inositol, 

 on the other hand, was said to have no effect on aneurine fatty livers. ^° 

 That the two compounds probably operate by different mechanisms 

 was confirmed by J. C. Forbes' observation ^^ that the effect of inositol 

 and choline together was greater than either alone. Choline reduced 

 the liver cholesteryl esters more effectively than did inositol, whilst 

 the lipotropic effect of inositol was abolished by corn oil.^^ 



According to Best et al.}^ however, there is no evidence that 

 biotin produces a selective deposition of cholesteryl esters in the liver 

 or that inositol has a specific effect on bound cholesterol or that the 

 fatty livers observed after administration of biotin are particularly 

 resistant to choline. On the contrary, the accumulation of cholesteryl 

 esters in liver bore a constant relationship to the deposition of glyceride 

 in the liver, and the administration of biotin did not affect this rela- 

 tionship. Best et al. confirmed the synergistic effect of choline and 

 inositol on the liver lipins, and the greater efficacy of choline in reducing 

 the liver glycerides and cholesteryl esters, but could find no evidence 

 in support of any effect of choline, inositol or biotin on the absolute 

 amount of phospholipin or free cholesterol in the liver or kidney 

 lipides. They recommended that the term " biotin fatty livers " 

 should be abandoned, and suggested that Gavin and McHenry's results 

 were due to their having overlooked the presence of choline in beef 

 liver. 



Other Species of Animals 



An increase in the growth rate was produced by the administration 

 of inositol to cotton rats,^* guinea-pigs,^^ and hamsters.^® In hamsters, 

 inositol counteracted a reproductive disorder produced by feeding an 

 inositol-deficient diet.^^ 



Chicks also exhibited an increased growth rate when given inositol, ^^ 

 which prevented an encephalomalacia and exudative diathesis due to 

 vitamin E deficiency.^ ^ 



Unlike rats and mice, inositol-deficient dogs did not develop 

 alopecia, but exhibited decreased peristalsis of the stomach and small 

 intestine with delayed gastric emptying, hypertonicity, hypomotility 

 and formation of gas.^» ^^ 



In pigs, inositol alleviated the symptoms produced by administra- 

 tion of sulphathalidine.21 These symptoms resembled those of biotin 

 deficiency and were prevented by giving biotin (page 426). Inositol 

 had no beneficial effect, however, when given to pigs maintained on a 

 diet containing the other members of the vitamin B complex. 2^' ^^ 



573 



