Low-Iodine Diet for Producing Iodine Deficiency in Rats

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Abstract
A low-I diet was prepared for rats using locally available low-I ingredients: 15-20 ng I/g. When fed to growing female rats this diet produced severe I deficiency while not significantly affecting growth or reproduction. The deficiency was manifested by a fall in daily urinary I excretion (to < 1 .mu.g/day) and a 7-fold increase in thyroid uptake (131I) observable within 3 mo. Levels of plasma thyroxine (T4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) continued to change for 4-5 months; T4 fell from 69.9 to 7.5 nmol/l and TSH increased 7-fold from a control value of 364 to 2406 ng/ml. Goiter was present in all I-deficient rats and I content in the thyroid was 10% of the control value.