Action of sodium fluoroacetate on enzymes

Game offluoroacetate poisoning In 1947 Bartlett and Barron, using tissue slice, showed that fluoroacetate blocked the oxidation of acetate competitively, and that this accounted for the toxic effect, namely, the body was deprived of acetate. Liebig and Peters then found that fluoroacetate blocked the oxidation of fumarate in a guinea-pig s kidney homogenate without accumulation of acetate hence Bartlett and Barron s hypothesis could not be the whole story. 

The results of Liebig and Peters are shown in the accompanying table from which it is also obvious that there is an accumulation of citrate  

Effect of FCHgCOONa (3-3 mu) on Iddney homogenate respiring in presence of sodium fumarate (Mg and A.T.P. added) 

0 Uptake Inhibition Acetic acid Citric acid (/ ) (%) (mg.) (mg.) 

Buffa and Peters then demonstrated the accumulation of citrate in vivo. The rat was injected with a lethal dose of sodium fluoroacetate and the following results obtained  

Other workers (Potter and Bush) have confirmed this citrate accumulation, and, in addition, have demonstrated that cancer tissue does not show the increase. 

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