[Seasonal determination of the metabolic clearance of aldosterone in the adult male sand rat (Psammomys obesus)].

The metabolic clearance Rate (MCR) of aldosterone was measured in the adult male sand Rat (Psammomys obesus) live-trapped throughout the year in the Béni-Abbès area, in the Algerian Sahara desert. Aldosterone MCR was about 4-61/24 h/100 g body wt and was not significantly different throughout the year. Taken together with previous results on annual variations in plasma concentrations of aldosterone, these data suggest that the in vivo production rate of aldosterone of the sand rat exhibited marked seasonal changes: highest in autumn and winter, it decreased in spring and was minimum in June and July.