Antimetabolites in the nutrition of Aedes aegypti L. larvae nicotinic acid analogues

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Abstract
The effect of graded doses of five nicotinic acid analogues on Aedes aegypti larvae, grown on a chemically defined diet, was tested. Nicotinic acid and nicotinamide were both equally effective as growth factors. Tryptophan could not replace or spare nicotinamide. The inhibition indices of the analogues, obtained on diets containing minimum nicotinamide, were as follows: [alpha]-picolinic acid, 60; 3-acetylpyridine, 100; isonicotinic acid hydrazide, 350; pyridine-3-sulphonic acid, 400; 6-aminonicotinamide, 500. The toxic effect of the nicotinic acid antagonists could not be reversed by nicotinamide. Small doses of 3-acetylpyridine could replace nicotinamide as a growth factor. The amount of 3-acetylpyridine required for maximal development was ten times that of nicotinamide. The other four analogues had no nicotinic acid-sparing activity. The nicotinic acid metabolism of insects and the effect of nicotinic acid analogues, as compared with those of other organisms, have been discussed.