Further observations on the effects of large doses of irradiated ergosterol

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Abstract
Half grown rats weighing 180 gm. consumed an average of 26.4 mgm. of irradiated ergosterol per animal per day for 45 days. This ergosterol was irradiated in an oily solution, and samples irradiated under similar conditions showed a potency of 1600 units per mgm. The effects of this overdosage of irradiated ergosterol were: an immediate loss of about 10% in weight after which they continued at about the same level, and an increase in the volume of urine excreted by 200-300%. Total urinary phosphate and chloride were not affected. The pH of the urine was not changed significantly, being only slightly higher in the experimental group. All the animals survived the experimental period and were then killed. Postmortem findings were: calcium phosphate calculi in the kidney, ureters or bladder of 9 of the 12 experimental animals, and some arteriosclerosis of the aorta in 4 of them.