Susceptibility of Rodents to Gastro-Intestinal Infections

Abstract

Kisskalt1 found that the susceptibility of mice to enteritides infections was increased after the administration of saponin. He concluded that this was due to the lowering of surface tension and increasing the spaces between the cells lining the mucosa. We have investigated this problem from the viewpoint advocated by Arnold.2Half-grown mice were given 0.1 cc. of a 20% aqueous solution of saponin by stomach tube. The animals were killed at various time intervals and the bacterial flora and hydrogen-ion concentration of the contents of the stomach, duodenum and jejunum were determined. The time intervals varied from 15 minutes to 12 hours. There were 180 mice used in the experiment recorded in the accompanying graph. The graph illustrates the changes produced within a 6-hour period of time after the introduction of saponin. There was little variation found in the 20 mice used for each time interval experiment. There is a sudden change in the hydrogen-ion concentration and the bacterial flora following intr...