INACTIVATION OF TESTOSTERONE PROPIONATE IN THE LIVER DURING VITAMIN B COMPLEX DEFICIENCY. ALTERATION OF THE ESTROGEN-ANDROGEN EQUILIBRIUM¹

Abstract

IN PREVIOUS publications (1–3) we have reported that deficiency of the vitamin B complex in female rats seriously impairs the estrogen-inactivating function of the liver, and that this function can be restored by the addition of brewers2 yeast to the diet. The investigation presented here is concerned with the effect of vitamin B deficiency on hepatic inactivation of testosterone propionate. Unlike the estrogens, inactivation of this androgen in the liver is not significantly diminished in vitamin B complex deficiency. It has been shown (4–6) that testosterone propionate and other androgens are normally inactivated in the liver. When pellets of androgen were implanted in the spleens of previously castrated rats so that the absorbed steroid must pass through the liver before reaching the systemic circulation, no androgenic effect could be detected. If the spleen containing the pellet was subsequently transplanted subcutaneously, and after establishment of a collateral circulation, its pedicle ligated, the specific effect became evident. Burrill and Greene (7) and Selye. (8) have provided confirmatory evidence that androgens are inactivated in the liver.