Normal and ketotio ewes pregnant with twin lambs were injected intramuscularly with 0·5 mg/kg body weight of trienbolone acetate. In the normal animals there was no significant change in the concentration of glucose, ketones, glycerol or NEFA in plasma.
Induction of ketosis by starvation produced a significant fall in the concentration of glucose in plasma and significant increases in the concentration of ketones, glycerol and NEFA. Trienbolone caused no further significant changes in the concentration of the four metabolites in the plasma of ketotio sheep.
Primed continuous simultaneous intravenous infusions of tracer amounts of [2-3H] and [U-14C]glucose were used to measure total entry rate and irreversible loss of glucose. Trienbolone caused significant decreases in both these measurements in normal pregnant sheep. Production of ketosis by starvation had the same effect. Trienbolone produced no significant additional effect in the ketotic sheep and no alleviation of the clinical signs of the hyperglycaemic ketosis.
These results are discussed in relation to the assessment of the potential value of trienbolone as a treatment of pregnancy toxaemia of sheep.