Shigeru Ohashi

Effect of the salts of meso-oxalic acid on alloxan diabetes mellitus.

Since the discovery of insulin, various new compounds having hypoglycemic action other than the pancreatic hormone have been reported. In 1922 Collip (1) reported Glucokinin and in 1927 Allen (2) Myrtillin, both of which are extracted from plants or yeast, and have hypoglycemic action. Best and Scott (1923) (3) stated that there are substances in the thyroid gland, liver and muscles that act in much the same way as insulin. Synthalin, a derivative of guanidin is effective but not in practical use, because of its marked side-action. That a kind of fatty acid containing seventeen C-atoms is effective against diabetes mellitus was reported by Kahn (1923) (4), but there was little evidence to support it. In 1945 Nath (6) reported he had succeeded in decreasing the acetone bodies in the blood of diabetics by using amellin. In Japan, proof has been found that there are substances which have hypogly-cemic action in seaweed, yeast and certain wild plants, but their chemical composition is totally unknown. In 1948 Kumagaya (5) reported he had discovered an acidic substance extracted from the Lathyrus Palustris L. var. Macranthus (white) Fernald and effective against diabetes mellitus. These findings so far reported led us to explore some unknown acidic compounds probably contained in plants, which might be efficacious in producing a marked decrease in the blood sugar level. This report deals with the hypoglycemic effect produced by the salts of meso-oxalic acid on the rabbit and dog having alloxap diabetes mellitus (10-18).

Mechanism of anti-diabetic activity of the mesoxalates

先に我々はAlloxan糖尿病家兎及び犬にメゾ蓚酸カルシウム又はナトリウムを經口投與して糖尿の減少又は消失, 高い空腹時血糖の低下, 血中アセトン體の減少, 及び尿中の非蛋白性窒素の排泄減少を來す事實, 又この際膵臓全摘出犬に對しては作用の無い事も合わせ報告した.この事實はAllonan糖尿病動物に對するメゾ蓚酸鹽の影響は膵臓自體の機能と密接な關係あるを思わしめるものである.こゝにこの藥物の作用機轉を追求する爲に行われた實験の一部を報告する.

The toxicity of the mesoxalates and histological observations after continuous administration

メゾ蓚酸鹽の持つている抗糖尿病作用の機序に關する實験成續は, 前報に報告した通りであい.正常家兎及びラツテに就てメゾ蓚酸カルシウムの毒性を檢べ, 併せて長期間連續藥物を投與した動物の各主要験器を組織學的に檢索した結果をこゝに報告する.