Relation of scurvy to glucose tolerance test, liver glycogen, and insulin content of pancreas of guinea pigs.

It was reported previously that deficiency of vitamin C in guinea pigs leads to diminished glucose tolerance (l), diminished deposition of liver glycogen (2), and diminished insulin content of t,he pancreas (3). In those experiments, however, the guinea pigs of the control group received ad lib&urn a natural diet consisting of green grass and germinated gram (Cicer arietinum) and not the scorbutic diet (4) with the supplement of ascorbic acid. The experimental results obtained with scorbutic guinea pigs might, therefore, be due to the different diets consumed by the animals and not due to the specific viOamin C deficiency. Further, the results might also be due to the effect of inanition as the paired feeding technique was not employed. In the present investigation the glucose tolerance test was studied, the glycogen value of the liver was determined, and the insulin content of the pancreas was estimated in both normal and scorbutic guinea pigs. The animals received the scorbutic diet with or without the supplement of ascorbic acid and the paired feeding technique was employed.