The occurrence of trivalent chromium in the aqueous and lens of rats.

I t has been reportedthat trivalent chromium plays an important role in insulin action. We have shown that, in the presence of trivalent chromium, insulin stimulated the glucose utilization of isolated rat lenses. This finding suggested the possibility that a variation in dietary chromium might be responsible for the repeated inconsistency in the insulin effect observed on the glucose utilization by the isolated lens. To evaluate further the role of chromium in lens metabolism, it was thus necessary to know the amount of trivalent chromium reaching the lens within the eye. We have investigated the trivalent chromium content of the aqueous humor and the lens, since no data were available concerning ocular chromium concentrations.