X. PHARMACOLOGY 381 



tration of epinephrine, and it abolished the reduction in chronaxia produced 

 by adrenochrome.'" Inositol does not potentiate the action of epinephrine 

 on a smooth muscle preparation, however, nor does it affect the autoxida- 

 tion of epinephrine.^^ Torda and Wolff^^ found that inositol increases the 

 sensitivity of the rectus abdominis muscle of the frog to acetylcholine. 



E. MISCELLANEOUS 



Inositol was found by Williams and Watson^- to activate slightly if at 

 all, transamination by the rat kidney. 



Doisy and Bocklage^^ in their studies on hexachlorocyclohexane noted 

 that the toxicity of the a, /?, 7, and b isomers was not affected by inositol. 



The thromboplastin inhibitory action of inositol phosphatide observed 

 by Overman and Wright^'* is believed by Kay and Balla^^ to be due to the 

 adsorption of the inositol phosphatide by the surface of the thromboplastin, 

 thereby preventing the typical reaction which normally occurs when 

 thromboplastin alone is employed. Inositol phosphatide w^as found by Kay 

 and Delancey^^ to be without influence on the mortality rate of rats suffer- 

 ing experimental burns. 



XI. Requirements 

 A. OF ANIMALS 



T. J. CUNHA 



No definite requirements have been worked out for the inositol needs 

 of animals. INlany investigators have been able to obtain good growth of 

 rats, mice, chicks, pigs, and hamsters when these animals were fed purified 

 diets without inositol. On the other hand, other groups of w^orkers, under 

 different conditions, have shown inositol to benefit the diet of rats, mice, 

 chicks, pigs, hamsters, guinea pigs, and cotton rats. It is apparent that 

 under certain conditions a need for inositol can be shown. The reason for 

 the need under those conditions is not exactly known. Since inositol has 

 been shown to be synthesized by rats^ and mice,^ it is logical to assume that 



" P. Chauchard, H. Mazoud, and R. Lecoq, Compi. rend. soc. biol. 142, 1346 (1948). 



32 H. L. Williams and E. M. Watson, Rev. can. biol. 6, 4.3 (1947) [C. .4. 41, 4182 (1947)]. 



33 E. A. Doisy, Jr., and B. C. Bocklage, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med. 74, 613 (1950). 



34 R. S. Overman and I. S. Wright, J. Biol. Chem. 174, 759 (1948). 



36 J. H. Kay and G. A. Balla, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med. 73, 465 (1950). 

 3* J. H. Kay and H. Deiancey, Surg. Forum Proc. 1951, 514. 



1 J. Needham, Biochem. J. 18, 891 (1924). 



2 D. W. Woolley, J. Exptl. Med. 75, 277 (1942). 



