Mechanisms of effect of orotic acid on growth and development of young rats

Abstract

Chronic administration to ratlings of potassium orotate in a dose of 75 mg/kg from the 5th to the 14th day and of 150 mg/kg from the 15th to the 30th day after birth led to a significant acceleration of growth and functional maturation of the animals. The rate of growth in the experimental ratlings was much greater at periods of from the 5th to the 14th and from the 21st to the 30th days than in control animals, but showed no significant difference on the 14th-20th days. Growth acceleration at the period of from the 5th to the 14th days dues to a higher (in comparison with control) activity of the vegetative systems (increased oxygen consumption, frequency of respiration and cardiac contractions at rest). On the 21st-30th days growth acceleration in the experimental animals was associated with an earlier reduction in the activity of the vegetative systems and of the sympathico-adrenal regulation mechanisms, this being pointed to by a fall in catecholamine content in the adrenal glands and the brain.