THE EFFECT OF THE SODIUM SALT OF 1,5 DIPHENYLPYRAZOLINE-3-CARBOXYLIC ACID ON THE BODY TEMPERATURE OF NORMAL ALBINO RATS AT DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERATURES

¹ From the Laboratory of Biochemistry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado

1. Intraperitoneal injections of the sodium salt of 1,5 diphenylpyrazoline-3-carboxylic acid into albino rats causes a fall in body temperature under suitable environmental conditions.

2. The degree of body temperature lowering is related to the environmental temperature. The greatest fall occurs in cold environments and the least, or none at all, in warm environments.

3. The fall in body temperature in the cold after administering the sodium salt of 1,5 diphenylpyrazoline-3-carboxylic acid is not caused by any inactivity induced by the drug, since no difference in activity between the controls and experimental animals could be seen until the body temperature of the experimental animals had fallen more than 10°C.

4. Survival from the low temperature experiments is not necessarily related to the extent of body temperature lowering, for the animal which suffered the greatest body temperature fall survived and remained in the best condition.