EFFECT OF DIGITALIS GLYCOSIDES ON THE ADRENAL CORTEX AND MEDULLA OF THE RAT

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
When the dosage of digitoxin injected in rats was low (0.10 mg/100 g body weight), no significant changes in body weight or in the adrenal cortex and medulla were noted. Subcutaneous injections of 0.25-0.5 mg/100 mg body weight of digitoxin, 0.125-0.50 mg/100 g body weight of K-strophanthin or 0.50mg/100 g body weight of lanatoside C for 19 days caused both an adrenocortical and an adrenomedullary stimulation in rats, as indicated by the increases in the adrenal weight, in the adrenomedullary volume, in the absolute amounts and/or concentrations of adrenal cholesterol and ascorbic acid, and also by the disappearance of the lipid-free zone between the zona glomerulosa and the zona fasciculata. The authors observed that the stimulation of the adrenal cortex and medulla appeared to be due to the non-specific toxic effect of large dosages of glycosides.