FEEDING SUDAN III TO YOUNG ALBINO RATS 103 



METHOD OF INVESTIGATION 



For this investigation albino rats alone were used. The rats 

 were from 27 to 33 days of age and were still running with 

 mother. The litter was divided into two groups; one group, 

 the controls, was fed with Austin's dog biscuit, and the other, 

 the tests, received approximately 0.008 to 0.020 milligrams of 

 Sudan III (Griibler's) in the form of a solution in olive oil w^ell 

 mixed with about 5 grams of the pow^dered dog or rat biscuit. 

 The amount of oil- used was about 1 to 2 cc. per rat per day. 

 When 20 milligrams of Sudan III were given the dose was found 

 to be too strong for the young rats to withstand for more than 

 one week, and indeed at the end of one week the test rats were 

 so emaciated and sick that it was necessary to return the animals 

 to the normal diet for recovery. 



Altogether 135 rats belonging to 19 litters were used, and 

 from the study of them I can present a few^ examples of the 

 growth of the body and organs of rats fed with Sudan III mixed 

 in olive oil. In each series the controls and the test animals were 

 always from the same litter. 



GROWTH OF BODY IN WEIGHT 



Table 1 gives the growth record for five of the series. These 

 are typical. The corresponding graphs for the growth of the 

 body in weight as the result of Sudan III feeding are shown in 

 chart 1 for series I, II and III and chart 2, for series VIII. Both 

 charts show clearly that the rats fed with Sudan III do not grow 

 as well as their litter mates of the control group. The amount 

 6f Sudan III administered was small (8 milligrams), nevertheless 

 it is sufficient either to inhibit the growth entirely or retard it to 

 a considerable extent. In general the younger rats appear more 

 sensitive to Sudan III than the older. In fact it has been found 

 that the rats with body weights of more than 50 grams show a 

 high resisting power to this dyestuff, and it requires a consider- 

 ably longer period to produce marked results. 



" The oil used in all of these tests carried the trade-mark: Extra fine^James 

 Wagner (Philadelphia) — Made in France. It was not tested chemically. 



