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The Inverse Relation between Growth and Incidence of Cataract in Rats Given Graded Amounts of Vitamin G-Containing Foods¹

One Figure

Department of Physiological Chemistry, School of Medicine, University of Arkansas, Little Rock

More than 200 young rats, weighing between 30 and 45 gm., were used in a series of vitamin G assays. For the first 2 weeks they were given a deficient diet only, after which time they were given daily supplements of vitamin-containing foods. Control animals receiving no supplement were kept until death, whereas the animals receiving supplements were killed after 10 weeks.

Eighty-six per cent of seventy-eight controls developed cataract before death, although only 63% showed such eye changes during the 10-week period. The rats receiving vitamin supplement, grouped according to growth during the 10-week period, showed the following incidence of cataract: animals growing 20 gm. or less—39% cataract; animals gaining from 21 to 40 gm.—26% cataract; animals gaining from 41 to 60 gm.—14% cataract; animals gaining more than 60 gm.—0% cataract. It is thus apparent that there was an inverse relationship between growth and appearance of cataract; that is, the greater the growth, the lower the incidence of cataract. This would seem to indicate that, under the conditions of the experiment, growth was a measure of the cataract-preventive property of the supplement. These data also indicate that only a small amount of the vitamin is required to prevent the appearance of cataract.

Manuscript received 24 June 1936.