Studies of the influence of various dietary conditions on physiological resistance. I. The influence of different proportions of protein in the food on resistance to the toxicity of ricin and on recuperation from hemorrhage.

Abstract

It was planned to compare, in these experiments, the behavior of two sets of dogs under variously induced pathological conditions. The experiments were conducted on two pairs of dogs, each pair being kept under identical conditions, so far as they could be controlled, except with respect to the food. One animal of each pair was given liberal amounts of protein in the daily diet, the other received barely sufficient protein to provide for the necessary nitrogenous metabolism, the remaining ingredients of the food for each animal being uniformly equal to the daily amounts ordinarily given per kilo, in this laboratory, to perfectly healthy dogs. No attempt was made to maintain equal caloric values in the diets. In each experiment the animal was fed on a diet of hashed lean meat, cracker meal and lard, the meat being gradually increased or diminished to a high or low plane, according to the plan in each case and before the particular pathological condition was induced.