01807naa a2200229 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000260006024501240008626000090021052011440021965000250136365000120138865000230140065300090142365300210143265300210145370000190147470000220149370000210151577300410153610780281996-08-19       1986    bl ---       0--  u    #d1 aRIBEIRO-DASILVA, C.R.  aBlood glucose alterations induced in rats by canatoxin, a protein isolated from jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis) seeds.  c1986  aCanatoxin, a lethal convulsant protein isolated from the seeds of Canatoxin ensiformis (Jack bean), induced a biphasis alterations in blood glucose levels when injected j.v. into rats and mice. After administration of subconvulsant doses of canatoxin the rats showed initially hyperglycemia during the first 30 min. Followed by a long-lasting hypoglycemia. Return to basal glucose levels was not seen up to 15 days. The hyperglycemic effect was dose-dependent and occurred in starved and well-fed animals. A parallelism between convulsant  and hyperglycemic was observed throughout all canatoxin purification steps. Mice were about 20-fold  less sensitive (on a weight basis) than rats to canatoxin-induced hyperglycemia. The hyperglycemia phase was not as affected by pretreatment on the rats with alpha or beta-adrenergic blockers or chlorpromazine, but was potentially by reserpine and haloperidol. Diazepan and hexamethonium were able to block the hyperglymic phase of canatoxin's effect. The results suggest that the hyperglycemic alterations induced by canatoxin in rats and mice are probably mediated via the central nervous system.  aCanavalia Ensiformis  aFeijão  aPhaseolus Vulgaris  aBean  aIsolated protein  aProteina isolada1 aCARLINI, C. R.1 aPIRES-BARBOSA, R.1 aGUIMARAES, J. A.  tToxicongv.24, n.8, p.775-782, 1986.