178 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXVIII, No. 2 
Table IV .—Toxicity to rats of gossypol and of volumetric solutions of ether extracts 
of cottonseed of which the gossypol content has been estimated {oil solution 
injected intraperitoneally )—Continued 
DURANGO COTTONSEED 
Num- 
Dose of 
Fatalities 
ber 
of 
rats 
Weight 
gossypol 
(calcu¬ 
lated) 
First 
day 
Sec¬ 
ond 
day 
Third 
day 
Fourth 
day 
Fifth 
day 
Sixth 
day 
Total 
Sur¬ 
vived 
Remarks 
5$ ... 
Gm. 
125-130 
Mgm.per 
Kilo 
15.3 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
5 
5c? — 
145-175 
20.7 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
4 
50”... 
140-210 
20.7 
3 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
3 
2 
1 died on 12th day. 
5c? — 
140-177 
51.3 
4 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4 
1 
4 died within 16 hours. 
LONE STAR COTTONSEED 
5. 
112-222 
17.5 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
5 
All lived. 
5? ... 
130-155 
43.7 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
5 
2 died later 
5$ ... 
210-260 
65 
3 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
4 
1 
TRICE COTTONSEED 
5c?... 
195-215 
18 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
5 
1 died on 15th day. 
5? ... 
132-147 
45 
0 
3 
1 
0 
0 
0 
4 
1 
1 killed on 10th day. 
5 . 
127-145 
58.5 
3 
0 
0 
.0 
0 
0 
3 
2 
2 killed on 10th day. 
The tests with the ether extract of the Lone Star cottonseed kernels indicate 
that their toxicity is not so great as might have been inferred from their gossypol 
content as determined by analysis. The best estimate that can be made is 
that the seeds are only about two-thirds as toxic. 
The tests made with the ether extract of the Trice cottonseed kernels indicate 
that the seed is slightly less toxic than indicated by the gossypol content as 
determined by analysis, the best estimate being about three-fourths of the 
theoretical value. 
The Durango and Egyptian seeds which contained the larger quantities of 
gossypol proved as toxic as predicted on the basis of the chemical analysis, 
whereas Lone Star and Trice seeds were less toxic than predicted. Had the 
toxicity been underestimated instead of overestimated, evidence that some 
factor other than the gossypol was involved would have been furnished. This 
slight deficiency of toxicity, however, is not inconsistent with the gossypol 
hypothesis of cottonseed poisoning. This substance is not entirely stable, and 
a small quantity could easily have been oxidized after picking the seed. Nothing 
concerning the treatment, fumigation, or storage of these samples of seed was 
ascertained. Moreover, the extracts represent crude gossypol, and the method 
of analysis includes the estimation of a small quantity of some substance other 
than gossypol, presumably a decomposition product of gossypol. 
A comparison of the results in Table I with those in Table IV shows that the 
order of toxicity of the seed used is the same as that indicated by the chemical 
analysis, but that the Egyptian seed, instead of being about three times as 
toxic as Trice cottonseed, is about four times as toxic. Analagous relations 
exist for Lone Star seed. These somewhat aberrant results may be within the 
possible range of error of the analytical method. 
