Xylitol is a polyalcohol which is a regular intermediary product of the carbohydrate metabolism.1 Although there have been many reports on the effects of xylitol on the carbohydrate metabolism in animals and human beings,2,3 there have been few published data on the metabolic changes induced by the adminis tration of xylitol in acute and subacute liver injury. Accordingly, studies were undertaken to investigate the effects of xylitol on the carbohydrate metabolism in the livers of rats treated with carbon tetrachloride (CC14) or alloxan. The findings presented here have suggested that xylitol is a good source of energy of the rats treated with CC14 or alloxan.
MATERIALS AND METHODSThe experiments were carried out by using male rats of wistar strain weighing 150 g. All animals were fed a standard laboratory diet and were de prived of food for 24 hours before they were killed. They were killed by de capitation at intervals. Alloxanized rats were produced by administering alloxan intraperitoneally 50 mg per kilogram of body weight. CC14 treated rats were produced by injecting subcutaneously 0.2 ml of 50 per cent CC14 (in olive oil)per 100 g of body weight. CC14 injection was continued twice a week up to fourteen days. The in vitro study using labelled sugars was carried out according 109
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