Gm Body Weight Research Articles

Hyperphagia in the insulin-treated rat.

SummaryProtamine zinc insulin (PZI) was administered daily to male rats by subcutaneous injection (2 units/100 gm of body weight) and comparisons were made with saline-injected control animals. As a consequence of PZI administration, the following observations were made: hyperphagia, increased body weight gain, increased lipogenesis from acetate-1-14C and glucose-U-14C, and no alteration in oxidation of glucose-U-14C to 14CO2, in lipolysis in vitro, nor in the fat concentration of adipose tissue. These results are compared with those reported previously with hypothalamic-hyperphagic rats and it is concluded that the metabolic mechanisms of increased fat deposition differ between the two forms of hyperphagia.

Thyroxine and triiodothyronine turnover in the chicken and the bobwhite and Japanese quail

Except for the data of Heninger and Newcomer (1964) on the t 1 2 of T 4 and T 3 in cardiac tissue of chickens and brief reports on the t 1 2 of T 4 in blood plasma of chickens (Tata and Shellabarger, 1959; Hendrich and Turner, 1967) and Japanese quail (McFarland et al., 1966) , no information has been found in the literature on the degradation of thyroid hormones in birds. In the present investigations, thyroxine- and triiodothyronine-distribution spaces (TDS) and biological half lives ( t 1 2 ) of the two hormones are reported. The extrathyroidal thyroxine- (ETT) and thyroid-secretion rate (TSR) from thyroxine degradation have been calculated from T 4 turnover data in the chicken, bobwhite and Japanese quail. Protein-bound iodine values (PBI) in the three species of birds are also presented. In addition, the results of TSR by thyroxine degradation are compared in chickens receiving diets adequate or deficient in iodine. Thyroxine and triiodothyronine turnover was studied in the chicken, bobwhite quail and Japanese quail. The thyroid secretion rate (TSR) as determined by this method in 7-week normal chickens, 7-week goitrogen-treated chickens, 56-week normal chickens, bobwhite, and Japanese quail, averaged 2.03, 1.59, 1.02, 2.49, and 2.78 μg/100 gm body weight/day, respectively. The TSR of iodine-deficient chickens was found to be significantly decreased. The representative biological half lives of T 4 in the blood of chickens, bobwhite, and Japanese quail were 3.25, 4.60, and 5.50 hours, respectively. The half life of T 3 in each species of birds tested is not significantly different. The representative thyroxine-distribution space (TDS) in ml/100 gm body weight of chickens, bobwhite, and Japanese quail, respectively, measured 29.39, 28.08, and 55.29. TDS/unit body weight of 56-week old chickens is significantly lower than in 7-week chickens. T 3-distribution spaces in all birds are higher than that of T 4. The representative protein-bound iodine of chickens, bobwhite, and Japanese quail were measured as 1.12, 1.76, and 1.26 μg, respectively. Increased plasma radioactivity was found in cardiac blood samples as compared to those taken by venous puncture. It is believed that this represents discharge of unchanged hormone from extrathyroidal tissues, probably the liver, in response to the withdrawal of a relatively large volume of blood. The possible role of this mechanism in regulating thyroid hormone levels is discussed.

Effect of colostomy on experimentally produced neoplasms of the colon of the rat.

As a means of determining the effect of the fecal stream in the pathogenesis of experimentally produced colonic tumors in Wistar strain rats, simple colostomies were performed in the left colon of 57 female rats at approximately 4 cm above the anus. Fifty-four rats received daily subcutaneous injections, 5 days per week, of the carcinogen 3:2'dimethyl-4-aminodiphenyl at a dosage of 2 mg/day/100 Gm body weight. Of the 54 rats, 17 (31.4%) developed either hyperplasia, adenomatous polyps or carcinoma of the large bowel proximal to the colostomy site. None of the 54 rats developed any lesion distal to the colostomy. None of the three control rats with colostomies developed any kind of tumor. Of the colonic lesions that developed, 12 were hyperplasias, 12 were adenomatous polyps and four were carcinomas. All hyperplasia developed at colostomy edge. Diversion of the fecal stream prevents development of colonic neoplasms in Wistar rats in this experimental situation.

Vibrissae and genetic background: their role in a water submersion task with mice.

Four experiments are reported which demonstrate that mice, deprived of their vibrissae and from different species and strains representing inbred, hybrid, and four-way cross genetic backgrounds, are impaired in their survival response on a water-submersion task in water of 105°F and with a tail weight of 2 gm to 30 gm of body weight. Although wide differences between groups are observed in rime to submersion with or without vibrissae, there is a trend for mice from groups of greater genetic heterogeneity to have longer time to submersion scores than inbred or genetically homogeneous groups. Handling, which was a necessary procedure in removing the vibrissae, is found to also reduce time to submersion when handling occurs without removing the vibrissae. Prior water submersion experience does not influence retest submersion scores.

Comparative thyroid activity in two species of Peromyscus

Thyroid activity in two species of deermice, Peromyscus maniculatus and P. polionotus, was compared by using protein bound iodine (PBI), thyroid secretion rate (TSR), and gland histology as criteria. Peromyscus polionotus showed a significantly higher mean PBI than P. maniculatus bairdii, 2.75 versus 2.22 μg%. In terms of proportion of epithelium and colloid, P. polionotus also averaged approximately 9% more gland epithelium than P. maniculatus bairdii. While significant differences in TSR between the species were not detected, P. polionotus did show a higher mean rate, 1.96 compared with 1.61 μg thyroxine per 100 gm body weight. Thyroid histological structure of these two species was compared. Adult mice were used in all studies. The differences in thyroid activity in the two species are probably insufficient to induce the physiological and developmental disruptions which occur when they are hybridized.

The effects of thiourea, KClO 4, methimazole, and thiouracil on the measurement of thyroxine secretion rate of cockerels

The effects of thiourea, KClO 4, methimazole, and thiouracil on 131I turnover by thyroid and on thyroxine secretion rate of cockerels were studied. Thiouracil, thiourea, methimazole, and KClO 4, when fed to 5-week-old cockerels, significantly decreased thyroidal 131I uptake, and significantly increased the release of thyroidal 131I. No cumulative effect was observed on the release rate of thyroidal 131I, when two of these antithyroidal drugs were given to 11-week-old cockerels simultaneously. Similar values of about 1.2 μg/100 gm body weight per day were obtained in the estimation of thyroxine secretion rate of 5- to 6-week-old cockerels by any of the radioiodine assays, goiter prevention assays, and microhistometric assays based on the height of the epithelial cells of the thyroid gland, with thiourea, methimazole, or thiouracil as the goitrogen. When KClO 4 was used as the goitrogen, the radioiodine assay, and the microhistometric assay gave similar values, whereas the goiter prevention assay could not be conducted because of a lack of enlargement of the thyroid glands. The feeding of a diet containing 1.0% KClO 4 and 0.1% thiouracil to 9-month-old cocks having fecal fistulas significantly increased (by 40%) fecal excretion of radiothyroxine, and decreased (by 10%) the deiodination of radiothyroxine, but not significantly. Feeding a diet containing 1.0% KClO 4 and 0.06% thiourea to the birds had no such effects compared with a diet containing only 1.0% KClO 4.

The influence of thyroid and testicular hormones on the epithelium of crypts of Lieberkühn in the rat's intestine.

AbstractThe growth of duodenal crypts of Lieberkühn was investigated in male Sherman rats subjected to thyroidectomy, and/or castration. Histological sections were studied, counting interphase nuclei and mitoses in 25 longitudinally sectioned crypts per animal. At 49 gm body weight, initial control animals had an average of 65.8 ± 2.4 cells per crypt section, and 80 days later, sham‐operated controls weighed 269 gm and had 91.4 ± 5.1 cells per crypt section. There were only 75.0 ± 3.7 cells per crypt section 80 days after thyroidectomy, while castrates had 97.0 ± 2.6 cells per crypt section. Thyroidectomy combined with castration produced results similar to thyroidectomy alone, 74.0 ± 2.5 cells per crypt section. Treatment of such doubly operated rats with testosterone during the last 42 days of the experiment significantly increased the cell number, to 82.7 ± 2.8 per crypt section, while thyroxine increased it to 100.8 ± 4.3. Thus, in the rat, the number of cells per crypt increases between juvenile and adult stages, and this growth is subject to endocrine regulation, particularly by the thyroid.The mitotic index of crypt cells increases with age, from 3.9 ± 0.1% at 49 gm body weight, to 5.2 ± 0.3% at 269 gm body weight. Castration did not interfere with this increment, but it was reduced in the absence of thyroid hormone, and was restored by the injection of thyroxine to thyroidectomized castrates.Finally, from related observations in previously reported and unpublished experiments, it is suggested (1) that the influence of thyroid hormone on crypt cell number may be mediated, at least in part, through an action on growth hormone release from the anterior pituitary and (2) that the rate of change in cell number with age may be determined in some measure by a change in the rate of cell displacement toward the villus tip, in addition to a change in mitotic index.

Feeding gastrostomy in small premature infants.

IN 1963 we became interested in gastrostomy as a method for delivering formula feedings to tiny premature infants. We observed that infants below 1,500 gm (3 lb 6 oz) body weight at birth not only did not suck well as a general rule, but often tolerated intermittent gavage or retention nasogastric feeding tubes poorly. An exploratory study was embarked upon to ascertain whether such small infants could tolerate the required surgery and perhaps benefit from some advantages which feeding gastrostomy appears to offer. Our first elective gastrostomy on a premature infant was performed in November 1963. Ten more premature infants had gastrostomies during the following year. This report details our experience and summarizes what was learned in a pilot study. Selection and Preoperative Management Patients for the study were selected from infants weighing 1,500 gm (3 lb 6 oz) or less and surviving for 72 hours. The 72-hour age-limit was

L-Thyroxine secretion rates and l-triiodothyronine equivalents in the opossum ( Didelphis virginianus)

One hundred and eleven determinations of thyroid secretion rate (TSR) were made on 57 opossums trapped in Boone County, Missouri, from February 1961 to May 1964. It was found that the adult population had a mean TSR of 1.72 μg l-thyroxine ( l-T 4)/100 gm b.w., and the juveniles (under 1 year of age) had a mean TSR of 2.66 μg T 4/100 gm b.w. The adult population exhibited a seasonal pattern of thyroid activity. In spring, the mean adult TSR was 1.94 ± .37 μg/100 gm body weight (b.w.), summer 1.19 ± .24 μg/100 gm b.w., fall 1.33 ± .47 μg/100 gm b.w. and winter 1.92 ± .47 μg/100 gm b.w The juvenile animals had a mean TSR of 2.84 ± .72 μg/100 gm b.w. in summer, 2.04 ± 1.08 μg/100 gm b.w. in fall, and 3.58 ± 1.90 μg/100 gm b.w. in winter, but seasonal variation was not significant. Differences between male and female TSR's within populations were not statistically significant. l-Triiodothyronine ( l-T 3) was substituted in the TSR procedure for l-T 4, and found to be approximately 1.1 times as effective as l-T 4 in blocking thyroidal I 131 release.

Renal changes associated with acclimatization to high altitude.

AbstractWhite rats were exposed to atmospheric pressures equivalent to 18,000 feet altitude for approximately 24 hours a day for as long as four months. Ratio between glomeruli and non‐glomerular cortical tissue was determined using the Chalkley technique. Mean cross‐sectional glomerular area was determined using a delineascope projection method. Conclusions reached as a result of this study are: (a) A decrease in kidney weight per 100 gm body weight is observed in altitude acclimatized rats compared to ground level control animals. Kidneys of rats at high altitudes weighed 15% ± 2.9% less than controls. (b) A decrease in the amount of non‐glomerular tissue per glomerulus is noted in animals at high altitude. (c) A decrease in mean glomerular area was observed in animals at high altitudes.Since no gross change in volume of renal cortex is observed during acclimatization, the conclusion is drawn from this information that during altitude acclimatization an increase in the total number of functioning nephrons occurs.

Seasonal changes in energy reserves in the common frog, Rana pipiens.

AbstractSeasonal changes in blood glucose content, liver glycogen conten, and fat body weight have been studied in Rana pipiens. Over a 12‐month period frogs were maintained at room temperature in tap water for a minimum of 14 days before observations were made. The frogs were not fed while in the laboratory. Blood glucose content was high in the summer (June through August) and fall (September through August) and fall (September through November) and low in the winter (December through February) and spring (March through May). The value for summer (60 mgm per 100 cm3 blood) was not signficantly different from the blood glucose level in the fall (60 mgm %). However, the blood glucose content in the winter (52 mgm % ) and the spring (49 mgm % ) were significantly different from each other and from the summer and fall. Liver glycogen content was high in the fall (1.16 gm/100 gm body weight). This decreased through the winter (0.85 gm/100 gm body weight) and spring (0.50 gm/100gm body weigh) until the annual low was reached in the summer (0.27 gm/100 gm body weight). All seasons were significantly diferent from each other when tested statistically. Fat body weights also exhibited a seasonal variation. All seasons were significantly different from each other. The high was in the summer (203.3 mgm/100 gm body weight). Fat body weights then decreased to 87.1 mgm/100 body weight in the fall, 32.7 mgm/100 gm body weight in the winter, and 25.1 mgm/100 gm body weight in the spring. These data are important when studying metabolic changes in this common laboratory animal.

MAST CELLS AND VESSELS OF THE CHOROID OF ALBINO GUINEA PIGS DURING THE UVEAL ANAPHYLACTIC REACTION.

Mast cell degranulation and liberation of vasoactive substances during anaphylactic reaction were parallel in guinea pigs,¹rats,²and mice.³ It was also shown that connective tissue and choroid mast cells are both degranulated by compound 48/80.^4-7 In the present study the alterations of vessels and mast cells of the posterior uvea in local anaphylactic reactions are reported. <h3>Materials and Methods</h3><h3>Antigens.</h3> —(<i>a</i>) Human gamma globulin (Lederle, C-583); (<i>b</i>) Human albumin (Behringwerke, Op. Nr. 1916-D, 358/E 297). <h3>Antiserum.</h3> —Rabbit antihuman globulin containing 884μg antibody nitrogen per milliliter (Ab N). <h3>Dye.</h3> —Colloidal carbon (Gunther Wagner—C 11/ 1431a), suspended according to Biozzi et al⁸and injected intravenously (8 mg/100 gm body weight). <h3>Diluent.</h3> —All reagents except the carbon were dissolved in 0.15 M NaCl. <h3>Animals.</h3> —Male albino guinea pigs weighing 250 to 300 gm (uveal pigment in pigmented animals makes it difficult to detect mast cells). <h3>Experiment</h3>

Intestinal Obstruction in Germfree Rats

Introduction PATIENTS with intestinal obstruction who are found to have gangrenous bowel at operation continue to have a mortality rate of over 20%. 17 Poorly understood toxic substances exude from the ischemic bowel. Although unquestionably important, the significant effects of the intestinal bacteria in strangulated intestinal obstruction remain poorly defined. To explore this problem, the natural course of strangulated intestinal obstruction was studied in a series of experiments using both conventional and germfree Sprague-Dawley rats. Materials and Methods Experiment 1. —A series of forty 200 to 250 gm Sprague-Dawley rats with a normal bacteria flora were anesthetized with intramuscular sodium pentobarbital, 2.5 mg/100 gm of body weight. With clean but nonsterile instruments and techniques, the abdominal cavity was opened through a midline incision. A closed test segment of the distal ileum was created by ligating each end of a 10 cm section of intestine with No. 2 black silk and

Effect of cortisol on the growth of chicks

Daily injections of cortisol (1.5 mg/100 gm body weight) into week-old male chicks inhibited the growth of most tissues. From measurements of tissue RNA and DNA it did not appear that the inhibition of growth was related to a decrease in the concentration of nucleic acids. In general, low doses of cortisol resulted in biochemical changes similar to those observed in hypophysectomized mammals. With high doses there was also a specific breakdown of muscle tissue with the loss of intracellular cations and protein.

The l-thyroxine secretion rate, l-triiodothyronine equivalent, and biological half-life ( [formula omitted]) of l-thyroxine-I 131 in the raccoon ( Procyon lotor)

The mean TSR of 29 observations on 12 raccoons was found to be 0.115 ± .08 μg/100 gm body weight. The adult males had a mean TSR of 0.127 ± .09 μg/100 gm body weight and the females 0.081 ± .08 μg/100 gm body weight. The females were somewhat lower than males, but the difference was insignificant. The juvenile males had a mean TSR of 0.100 ± .04 μg/100 gm body weight and the females a mean of 0.106 ± .03 μg/100 gm body weight. When l-T 3 was substituted for l-T 4 in the procedure, it was found to be 1.92 times as potent on an equimolar basis in the adult males, and 1.06 times as potent in the juveniles. The t 1 2 of thyroxine-I 131 was found to be 0.91 ± .05 days in the adult males and 0.82 ± .06 days for the juveniles. This difference was significant ( p < .05).

Comparison of the effects of thiouracil, propylthiouracil, and methimazole on I 131 metabolism by the chick thyroid and measurements of thyroxine secretion rates

The effects of thiouracil, propylthiouracil, and methimazole (1-methyl-2-mercapto-imidazole) on I 131 metabolism in the chick thyroid and thyroxine secretion rates were studied. Thiouracil, propylthiouracil, and methimazole, when fed to 5-week-old cockerels at a 0.1% level in the diet, decreased thyroidal I 131 uptake to 62, 21, and 13% of that of a normally fed group, respectively. The feeding of thiouracil, propylthiouracil, and methimazole at a 0.1% level in the diet increased the release rate of thyroidal I 131 to 2.4, 3.4, and 4.1 times, respectively, that in the chick fed a normal diet. In addition, similar values about 1.5 μg/100 gm body weight per day were obtained in the estimation of the thyroxine secretion rate of 5–6-week-old cockerels both by the goiter prevention assay and by the radioiodine assay with thiouracil, propylthiouracil or methimazole as the goitrogen. The results of both assays revealed that the employed doses of the goitrogens had little effect on thyroxine secretion rates in 6–7-week-old cockerels. Thiouracil feeding at a 0.1% level in diet of 9-week-old cockerels, which had fecal fistulas for the separate collection of the urine and feces, increased (20–30%) fecal excretion and decreased (by 10%) the deiodination of radiothyroxine, compared with the nongoitrogen-treated birds. The feeding of methimazole had no such effects. The feeding of potassium perchlorate to the 13-week-old cockerels having fecal fistulas, at a 1% level in diet, severely inhibited the thyroidal uptake of I 131 recycled from metabolized radiothyroxine, but it did not increase fecal excretion of radiothyroxine. The administration of propylthiouracil to these birds increased fecal excretion by 30%, and it decreased the deiodination of radiothyroxine by 15%; methimazole had no effect. Thus, although methimazole has a stronger antithyroidal activity than thiouracil, it does not increase the fecal excretion of thyroxine as thiouracil does in the chick. The rate of thyroxine secretion is not affected by the different goitrogens.

THE ROLE OF THE NUCLEOLUS. I. TRITIATED CYTIDINE ACTIVITY IN LIVER PARENCHYMAL CELLS OF THIOACETAMIDE-TREATED RATS.

Male rats of the Sherman strain were fed for 2 weeks a diet of ground purina rat chow containing 0.04 per cent thioacetamide. Animals were injected intraperitoneally with tritiated cytidine, 200microc/100 gm body weight, and sacrificed in pairs, a control and a thioacetamide-treated rat, at prescribed intervals. Liver tissues were preserved with the freeze-substitution method and postfixed in anhydrous OsO(4). Other samples were fixed directly with an acetic acid-ethanol mixture (1:3). AR-10 stripping film was applied to 2- and 4-micro sections and exposed for appropriate lengths of time. Nuclear and nucleolar volumes were obtained by direct measurement. Cytoplasmic volumes were obtained with the aid of Chalkley ratios. Nucleolar and cytoplasmic RNA concentrations were calculated from cytophotometric extinction (E(540 mmicro)) measurements. Data were expressed as grains/unit area, grains/unit area/concentration (or specific activity) and grains/total structure. In the liver parenchymal cells of thioacetamide-treated rats, the nucleolus shows vast increases in volume, RNA content, and grain count/total structure, 14-fold, 25-fold, and over 30-fold, respectively. The nucleus increases 2-fold in volume and about 3-fold in total grain count. Cytoplasmic volume increases only 20 per cent and displays a total grain count about equal to that in the control. The time course of incorporation curves for nucleolus and non-nucleolar nucleus (NNN) contain 2 distinct turnover fractions, rapid and slow. Both fractions were increased after thioacetamide treatment but remained proportional to those of controls. The unique stimulated RNA turnover in the nucleus and nucleolus, coupled to a "normal" turnover in the cytoplasm, suggests that this nuclear-nucleolar loss of label does not represent an exclusive passage of formed nuclear RNA to the cytoplasm.

Some of the factors controlling growth and differentiation of the right gonad in female domestic fowl

The presence of the normal left ovary inhibits the development of both the cortical and medullary components of the rudimentary right gonad in fowl. Physiological amounts of estradiol benzoate (1 μg/100 gm body weight) completely inhibited the development of medullary tissue in ovariectomized fowl (poulards) but did not inhibit cortical tissue to the same extent as in the intact pullet. An ovarian brei, containing no detectable sex steroids (i.e., amounts of estrogen and androgen capable of feminizing plumage or causing comb growth) significantly retarded the growth and differentiation of the right gonad in poulards. Hypophysectomy completely inhibited the development of the right gonad in poulards. Severe thyroid insufficiency, induced by propylthiouracil, significantly suppressed or retarded the growth of this rudimentary organ. The results of these and other experiments indicate that the avian ovary produces one or more specific substances which inhibit the development of the right gonad. Suppression of this gonadal tissue following hypophysectomy is probably due to the lack of several trophic hormones, rather than to the absence of specific gonadotropins.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE THYROID GLAND ON POLYPLOID CELL FORMATION IN THE EXTERNAL ORBITAL GLAND OF THE RAT.

AbstractThe influence of the thyroid gland on the progressive accumulation of polyploid acinar nuclei in the rat external orbital gland was investigated. The numbers of polyploid nuclei were determined from nuclear size distribution curves, having first ascertained the correspondence between increased nuclear size and the polyploid state by microspectrophotometric determinations of the DNA in Feulgen‐stained nuclei.In the first experiment, the animals were kept 147 days, and controls showed increases in external orbital gland weight and polyploid cell formation with age. The presence of the thyroid was essential to these morphological changes, for they were prevented by thyroidectomy at 70 gm body weight. Treatment with thyroxine, begun 103 days after thyroidectomy, restored body and orbital gland weight gains and the formation of new polyploid cells. Treatment of thyroidectomized rats with growth hormone induced body growth, but failed to alter orbital gland weight and polyploidy. The action of thyroid hormone on orbital gland cells was therefore not mediated through its effect on the release of anterior pituitary growth hormone and this contrasts with previously reported results of polyploidy studies in the livers of these same animals.A second experiment was designed to study the interrelationship of the observed thyroid effect with the stimulatory action of testis hormone reported in the literature. The animals weighed 49 gm at the beginning of the experiment, their orbital glands weighed 54 mg and contained 41.0% polyploid nuclei. Eighty days after castration at 49 gm body weight, orbital glands weighed 153 mg and contained 88.9% polyploid nuclei of which 24.9% were above tetraploid size, whereas the glands of sham‐operated controls weighed 214 mg and contained 91.5% polyploid nuclei of which 53.6% were above tetraploid size. Thus, the presence of the testis is not required for polyploid cell formation and orbital gland growth, although it can exert some stimulatory action in the course of normal development. On the other hand, thyroidectomy alone or thyroidectomy together with castration, prevented increases in gland weight or numbers of polyploid nuclei, again demonstrating the essential role of the thyroid. Treatment of thyroidectomized‐castrates with thyroxine for 42 days, beginning 38 days after operation, led to the resumption of orbital gland weight gains (107 mg) and polyploid cell formation (91.4%), but treatment with testosterone did not. Thus, the thyroid control is independent of any concomitant testicular influence on these cells, whereas the stimulatory effect of testicular hormone requires a permissive action of thyroid hormone.In discussing these results, comparisons were made with the hormone control of liver growth and polyploidy, and it was concluded that the formation of new polyploid cells is stimulated by those specific hormones which can promote cell division in liver parenchyma and external orbital gland acini. It was further noted that in both these tissues, there is an increase of basic nuclear size with age, regardless of ploidy, and that this nuclear growth also can be influenced by thyroid hormone.

ESTIMATION OF ESTROGENIC AND TOXIC PROPERTIES OF LUPINUS TERMIS IN MICE

The estrogenic and toxic properties of Lupinus termis were studied i n mice. No estrogenic activity was observed in the crude alcohol extrac t. This can be attributed to the high toxicity of the extract which barred its use in higher doses. 1 mg/day administered by subcutaneous injection was established as the minimum estrogenic dose. The expression of this fraction in terms of the estrogenic activity of estradiol monobenzoate is 1:351699.9 and 1:962566.8 when compared with 1 mg and 3 mg of the total alkaloids respectively. The minimum lethal dose and lethal dose for the alcohol extract in mice was 230.8 mg and 384.6 mg/100 gm body weight respectively while those for the total alkaloids were 23.1 mg and 53.8 mg respectively.