THE PRESENCE OF GLUCOSE IN THE SALIVARY SECRETION AFTER THE ADMINISTRATION OF ADRENALIN

¹ The Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

1. In cats anæsthetized with nembutal the saliva secreted by submaxillary gland in response to stimulation of the chorda tympani or the cervical sympathetic nerve is free from glucose, unless the blood sugar concentration is higher then 400 mg. per cent.

2. After intravenous administration of adrenalin a considerable amount of glucose may be detected in the saliva; the larger the dose of adrenalin, the greater will be the glucose content. If the adrenalin injections are discontinued, the glucose gradually decreases until there is no trace of it in the saliva.

3. The presence of the sugar in the saliva after adrenalin administration is due to the action of adrenalin on the gland itself and not to the hyperglycæmia produced by the adrenalin. However, if under these conditions the blood sugar concentration is raised by the injection of glucose, a larger amount of glucose is detectable in the saliva.

4. It is concluded that adrenalin renders the salivary glands permeable to the glucose present in the blood.

This work was made possible by financial assistance given to one of us (C. O. H.) by the Banting Research Foundation, and to the other (G. W. S.) by the Rockefeller Foundation, the help of both of which foundations is gratefully acknowledged. We are greatly indebted to Dr. B. P. Babkin, under whose direction the work was carried out, for his helpful advice and criticism.