Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T12:04:41.781Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Estimation of water content by tritium dilution of animals subjected to rapid live-weight changes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

W. R. McManus ,
R. K. Prichard ,
Carolyn Baker  and
M. V. Petruchenia
W. R. McManus
Affiliation:
School of Wool and Pastoral Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, N.S.W. 2033, Australia
R. K. Prichard
Affiliation:
School of Wool and Pastoral Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, N.S.W. 2033, Australia
Carolyn Baker
Affiliation:
School of Wool and Pastoral Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, N.S.W. 2033, Australia
M. V. Petruchenia
Affiliation:
School of Wool and Pastoral Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, N.S.W. 2033, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The use of tritiated water to estimate total body-water content of animals experiencing recovery from under-nutrition was studied.

The time for equilibration of tritiated water (TOH), given intraperitoneally, with total body water (TBW) was determined in rabbits and in rats. As judged by the specific activity of blood water, equilibration had occurred by 76–125 min in the rabbit and did not appear to be affected by the plane of nutrition. However, between slaughter groups the specific activity of water obtained from the liver 180 min after injection of TOH was significantly different from the specific activity of water simultaneously obtained from the blood plasma. It is concluded that the liver is not a suitable tissue to use for testing achievement of equilibration.

As judged by the specific activity of blood water compared to that of water from the whole body macerate, equilibration in mature rats either in stable body condition or undergoing rapid compensatory growth occurred in less than 60 min.

A trial comparing TOH-space (corrected by 3% body weight) and actual TBW (by desiccation) was conducted on thirty rabbits which experienced under-nutrition followed by compensatory growth.

Prior to under-nutrition the agreement between actual and estimated TBW was satisfactory and within 2·3%. During compensatory growth the agreement was poor— the TOH values over-estimating actual TBW by about 12%.

A trial with mature rats confirmed the findings with rabbits. For rats in stable body weight the mean estimated TOH-space for fourteen animals was within 1·2% of the actual TBW. For fourteen rats undergoing compensatory growth the mean estimated TOH-space (corrected by 3% body weight) overestimated actual TBW by 6·2%.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 72 , Issue 1 , January 1969 , pp. 31 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1969

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Edelman, I. S. (1952). Exchange of water between blood and tissues: characteristics of deuterium oxide equilibration in body water. Am. J. Physiol. 171, 279–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elkinton, J. R. & Danowski, T. S. (1955). The Body Fluids: Basic Physiology and Practical Therapeutics. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Co.Google Scholar
Fallot, P., Aeberhardt, A. & Masson, J. (1957). Methode de dosage de l'eau tritiée et ses applications en clinique humaine. Int. J. appl Radiat. Isotopes. 1, 237–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, N. L. (1954). Changes in the liver fat of the pregnant sheep at different levels of nutrition and during starvation. Br. J. Nutr. 8, 269–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foy, J. M. & Schnieden, H. (1960). Estimation of total body water (virtual tritium space) in the rat, cat, rabbit, guinea-pig and man, and of the biological halflife of tritium in man. J. Physiol., Lond. 154, 169–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hevesy, G. & Jacobson, C. F. (1940). Rate of passage of water through capillary and cell walls. Acta. physiol. scand. 1, 11–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langham, W. H., Eversole, W. J., Hayes, F. N. & Trujillo, T. T. (1956). Assay of tritium activity in body fluids with use of a liquid scintillation system. J. Lab. clin. Med. 47, 819–25.Google ScholarPubMed
Pace, N., Kline, L., Schachman, H. K. & Harfenist, M. (1947). Studies of body composition. IV. Use of radioactive hydrogen for measurement in vivo of total body water. J. biol. Chem. 168, 459–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Panaketto, B. A. (1963). Body composition in vivo. III. The composition of living ruminants and its relation to the tritiated water spaces. Aust. J. agric. Res. 14, 944–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Panaretto, B. A. & Till, A. R. (1963). Body composition in vivo. II. The composition of mature goats and its relationship to the antipyrine, tritiated water and N-acetyl-4-aminoantipyrine spaces. Aust. J. agric. Res. 14, 926–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinson, E. A. (1952). Water exchanges and barriers as studied by the use of hydrogen isotopes. Physiol. Rev. 32, 123–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pinson, E. A. & Langham, W. H. (1957). Physiology and toxicology of tritium in man. J. appl. Physiol. 10, 108–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prentice, T. C., Siri, W., Berlin, N. I., Hyde, G. M., Parsons, R. J., Joiner, E. E. & Lawrence, J. H. (1952). Studies of total body water with tritium. J. din. Invest. 31, 412–18.Google ScholarPubMed
Reid, J. T., Balch, C. C. & Glascock, R. F. (1958). Use of tritium, of antipyrene, and of N-acetyl-4-amino antipyrene in the measurement of body water in living rabbits. Br. J. Nutr. 12, 43–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schloerb, P. R., Friis-Hansen, B. J., Edelman, I. S., Soloman, A. K. & Moore, F. D. (1950). Measurement of total body water in the human subject by dueterium oxide dilution. J. din. Invest. 29, 1296–310.Google Scholar
Siri, W. E. (1956). Gross composition of the body. Adv. biol. med. Phys. 4, 239–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, S. E. (1963). Speciality feed formulations— rabbits. Proc. Cornell Nutr. Conf. for Feed Manufacturers. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Till, A. R. & Downes, A. M. (1962). Measurement of total body water in the sheep. Aust. J. agric. Res. 13, 335–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar