IX. EFFECTS OF DEFICIENCY 369 



for inositol can be shown. Wliether the inositol is effective per se or whether 

 it acts indirectly by stimulating the synthesis of biotin or other factors is 

 not yet clear. 



Sure^^ reported that inositol and p-aminobenzoic acid improved the rate 

 of survival of newborn rats. Later, Sure^^ found that p-aminobenzoic acid 

 was primarily responsible for this action. Climenko and McChesney" 

 reported that, on a purified diet, either with or without p-aminobenzoic 

 acid, the addition of inositol reduced the mortality rate of the young rats 

 and increased the milk yield of lactating rats. The inclusion of p-amino- 

 benzoic acid alone, however, appeared to have an adverse effect upon 

 lactation. The reverse of this finding was reported by Sure.^^ Ershoff and 

 McWilliams-^ reported reduced fertility when inositol was fed in a purified 

 ration containing both p-aminobenzoic acid and sulfaguanidine. However, 

 the reduced fertility did not occur if either sulfaguanidine or inositol was 

 omitted from the diet. Ershoff" later found that massive doses of inositol 

 or p-aminobenzoic acid exerted no deleterious effects on growth or reproduc- 

 tion and that lactation may occur on diets containing 1 % p-aminobenzoic 

 acid or inositol. The divergent findings of these various investigators can- 

 not be definitely explained. It is possible that the differences are due to 

 the different diets used and their subsequent effect on the type of intestinal 

 flora present in the rats. 



Lindley and Cunha'-° found that inositol was of no benefit when added 

 to the ration of the pig fed a purified diet. They concluded that either the 

 pig synthesizes enough inositol or it does not need the vitamin added to the 

 ration. In that trial, however, it was found that, if a biotin deficiency was 

 produced by using sulfathalidine in the ration, inositol alleviated to a 

 large extent the deficiency symptoms prevented entirely by biotin. A pos- 

 sible explanation is that inositol acted indirectly by stimulating intestinal 

 synthesis of biotin. Data by Ross et alP and Cunha et aU'^ have sho^vn that 

 inositol was beneficial in lactation when added to a corn-soybean ration 

 for brood sows and rats. However, these studies need more confirmation 

 with other types of natural rations. 



Hegsted et al.^^ reported that inositol supplementation slightly increased 

 the growth rate of chicks fed a partially purified diet. Dam^- found that 



" B. Sure, Science 94, 167 (1941). 

 26 B. Sure, /. Nutrition 26, 275 (1943). 



" D. R. Climenko and E. W. McChesney, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med. 51, 157 (1942). 

 2« B. H. Ershoff and II. B. McWilliams, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med. 54, 227 (1943). 

 " O. B. Ross, P. H. Phillips, and G. Bohstedt, J. Animal Sci. 1, 353 (1942). 

 3" T. J. Cunha, O. B. Ross, P. H. Phillips, and G. Bohstedt, /. Animal Sci. 3, 415 

 (1944). 



31 D. M. Hegsted, G. M. Briggs, R. C. Mills, C. A. Elvehjem, and E. B. Hart, Proc. 

 Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med. 47, 376 (1941). 



32 H. Dam, J. Nutrition 27, 193 (1944). 



