The Relation Between Acidosis and Glucose Tolerance.

In earlier work 1 it was shown that phlorhizin glycosuria the glucose tolerance was directly related to the nutritional condition of the animal. Low tolerance was noted in those animals which had been fasted and phlorhizinized for 5 to 6 days while the opposite was found in those dogs which had received large doses of carbohydrate 12 to 15 hours previous to the test, although these animals were still phlorhizinized. These variations were similar to those found in the same dogs in the non-phlorhizinized state after fasting or after feeding large amounts of carbohydrate before carrying out the glucose tolerance test.

In each case the increased tolerance is associated with an abolition or a considerable decrease in the ketosis. The present investigation was designed to determine whether the acidosis per se was the cause of the decreased ability to store carbohydrate. Since it is impossible to produce a ketosis and at the same time have a large carbohydrate storage, an acidosis was produced by the injection or oral administration of 10 to 15 gm. of NH₄Cl. Simultaneously with the introduction of the NH₄Cl, large quantities of carbohydrate food were given. Glucose tolerance tests were made on the 2 following days using 16 gm. of glucose as was the practice in the earlier experiments with which these results are compared. The CO₂ combining power of the blood plasma was reduced from the normal value of 55 to 50 volumes percent to as low as 15 volumes percent in one case. Six tests were made on 3 dogs and these all showed a very small rise in the blood sugar with a rapid return to the pre-glucose level. These results are identical with those obtained on the same animals in the well fed condition whether normal or phlorhizinized.