THE GASTROINTESTINAL NON-ABSORPTION OF SODIUM CELLULOSE SULFATE LABELED WITH S

¹ Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and The Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York

1. Following administration of inorganic sodium S³⁵ sulfate up to 64 per cent of the activity was rapidly excreted via the urine.

2. After intravenous administration of S³⁵ labeled sodium cellulose sulfate considerable activity (up to 25 per cent) was recovered from the urine within six hours.

3. Per os and duodenal loop studies with S³⁵ labeled sodium cellulose sulfate indicated insignificant absorption from the gastrointestinal tract as verified by tissue analyses and urinary excretion data.

4. Sodium cellulose sulfate is a compound of low toxicity. It was impossible to measure the acute toxicity because concentrated solutions form gels; no deaths followed doses of 800 to 2000 mgm./kgm. given orally or intraperitoneally to several species. Groups of 15 male and 15 female weanling albino rats exhibited almost no evidence of any toxic effect as a result of ingesting for 3 months diets containing 1, 5, and 20 per cent, respectively, of sodium cellulose sulfate. The 20 per cent groups exhibited an appreciable but not severe growth retardation. Organ weights were normal and normal hematological values were obtained in selected rats of the 20 per cent groups. No pathological changes were found in any of the tissues examined at the end of 1 month. After 3 months no histological changes were noted save an increased frequency of occurrence of a slight abnormality in the renal epithelial cells of certain rats in the 20 per cent group.