ABSTRACT
Sixty male rats divided into the control and the gelatin group were fed with 20% protein synthetic diet. The diet for the former group contained 24% casein, whereas for the latter 11% gelatin and 12% casein. , Having been fed for some days, all rats were irradiated with 875 rad (LD85-90). The main results were summarized as follows;1. The gelatin group had higher survival rate than the control group. 2. The body weight of gelatin group was less declined than that of control group and then much restored than the latter. 3. The survival time of dying rats within 14 days following the exposure to 875 rad in gelatin group was more longer than that in control group. 4. The gelatin group had less biological lesions than the control group.It was suggested that the gelatin diet had distinctly prophylactic-therapeutic action on acute radiation damage and its mechanism was probably related to the prevention from disturbance of collagen metabolism.