Reproduction in the guinea pig as affected by chronic administration of potassium nitrate and potassium nitrite.

Toxicosis produced by nitrates and related compounds is a problem in man and in domestic animals. The most prominent effect of nitrate and nitrite is the conversion of hemoglobin to methemoglobin. Nitrate must be reduced to nitrite before excessive -methemoglobinemia occurs. Nitrites are therefore several times more toxic than nitrates. -· Pharmacologically, KN03 had been used as a diuretic, and much of this action is due -.:.::::~~'""'a: direct irri~ant action on renal cells. The effects of nitrates and nitrites on reproduc. tion have asslimed considerable importance in recent years. Abortions in swine, sheep, • __ ; and cattle ~ve been attributed by Case (1957) to nitrate and nitrite poisoning. Experi::=:mental woil-emphasizing the effects of nitrates or nitrites on reproduction has been "·reported in cattle, sheep, swine, and rats. Simonet a/. (1959) repeatedly administered 7 "-:.potassium nitrate intraruminally to pregnant cows and thereby caused abortions.