Production of the features of Reye's syndrome in rats with 4-pentenoic acid.

4-Pentenoic acid, an analog of hypoglycin which is believed to cause Jamaican vomiting sickness, was administered intraperitoneally to rats in an attempt to produce the features of Reye's syndrome in rats. Mean ammonia levels in plasma were found to be elevated approximately four-fold after injection of 200 mg/kg pentenoic acid in fed rats. Pentenoic acid caused hypoglycemia in fasted rats and hyperglycemia in fed rats. In chronic experiments rats were injected intraperitoneally every 4 hr with 50 mg/kg body weight of pentenoic acid for 10 doses, followed by a single dose of 200 mg/kg. The livers of the treated group were enlarged and yellow and showed extensive fatty degeneration. The blood-urea-nitrogen (BUN) was significantly higher and the free fatty acids (FFA's) significantly lower in these rats. This study shows that pentenoic acid administered to rats produces findings similar to those of Reye's syndrome and Jamaican vomiting sickness.