Hyperglycemia in Pyridoxine Deficient Rats1

Xanthurenic acid, an abnormal metabolite of tryptophan (1, 2), which is pro duced in pyridoxine-deficient rats, is said to cause diabetes mellitus (3). In our laboratory Lin et al. (4) suggested that the deficiency of pyridoxine alone for a long time might cause, independently of the diabetogenic action of xanthurenic acid, abnormal carbohydrate metabolism leading to continuous hyperglycemia. The authors have studied the blood sugar levels of the rats fed on a pyridoxine-deficient casein diet without adding tryptophan particul arly. Thirty white Wistar strain male rats weighing 120-170g were divided into three groups of ten rats each and were kept on the following diet for more than ninety days: (A) natural diet or wheat with fish meal , (B) pyrido