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Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of mineral supplementation to cattle grazing winter-wheat pasture. In experiment 1 (fall), 120 steers and heifers (body weight [BW] = 232 ± 11.4 kg) were assigned randomly to four blocks of replicated pastures during the second week of November in 2008 and 2009 and all herds (6 animals/pasture; 4.9 ha/pasture) were allowed to graze for 84 d. In experiment 2 (spring), 216 steers (BW = 248 ± 7.9 kg) were assigned randomly to five blocks of replicated pastures during the second week of February in 2009 and 2010 and all herds (12 or 6 animals/pasture; 4.9 ha/pasture) were allowed to graze for 84 d. Half the pastures in both experiments received a free-choice mineral mixture (Wheat Pasture Pro; Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, LLC; St. Paul, MN; Ca, 16% and P, 4%); mineral feeders were weighed weekly to determine mineral intake. All pastures were planted in early September of each year (67 kg of seed/ha) and fertilized with 50 kg of urea-N/ha. Standing herbage dry matter was determined midway between weigh dates by clipping wheat forage to the ground along 122 cm of drill rows at 10 locations/pasture. Data were analyzed by ANOVA, with treatment as the fixed effect and pasture, animal sex (experiment 1), and block as random effects. In experiment 1, cattle offered minerals had a 43% faster average daily gain (ADG; P = 0.02, 0.73 kg) than cattle not offered minerals (0.51 kg); hence, supplemented cattle weighed 6% more (P = 0.04; 286 kg) after 84 d than nonsupplemented cattle (271 kg). In experiment 2, cattle offered the mineral supplement had a faster ADG (20% increase; P = 0.04; 1.00 kg) than cattle not offered minerals (0.83 kg). Further, supplemented cattle weighed 4% more (P = 0.03; 326 kg) after 84 d than nonsupplemented cattle (312 kg). In both experiments, daily standing herbage dry matter averaged 1,381 kg/animal and never differed (P ≥ 0.47) between treatments. Mineral intakes averaged 135 (experiment 1) and 124 (experiment 2) g/d, resulting in a cost of supplement to kilogram of added BW gain of $0.53 and $0.64, respectively (assuming a mineral cost of $0.88/kg). Overall, supplementing an appropriate mineral mixture to cattle grazing winter-wheat pasture increased ADG in a cost-effective manner.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of mineral supplementation to cattle grazing winter-wheat pasture. In experiment 1 (fall), 120 steers and heifers (body weight [BW] = 232 ± 11.4 kg) were assigned randomly to four blocks of replicated pastures during the second week of November in 2008 and 2009 and all herds (6 animals/pasture; 4.9 ha/pasture) were allowed to graze for 84 d. In experiment 2 (spring), 216 steers (BW = 248 ± 7.9 kg) were assigned randomly to five blocks of replicated pastures during the second week of February in 2009 and 2010 and all herds (12 or 6 animals/pasture; 4.9 ha/pasture) were allowed to graze for 84 d. Half the pastures in both experiments received a free-choice mineral mixture (Wheat Pasture Pro; Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, LLC; St. Paul, MN; Ca, 16% and P, 4%); mineral feeders were weighed weekly to determine mineral intake. All pastures were planted in early September of each year (67 kg of seed/ha) and fertilized with 50 kg of urea-N/ha. Standing herbage dry matter was determined midway between weigh dates by clipping wheat forage to the ground along 122 cm of drill rows at 10 locations/pasture. Data were analyzed by ANOVA, with treatment as the fixed effect and pasture, animal sex (experiment 1), and block as random effects. In experiment 1, cattle offered minerals had a 43% faster average daily gain (ADG; P = 0.02, 0.73 kg) than cattle not offered minerals (0.51 kg); hence, supplemented cattle weighed 6% more (P = 0.04; 286 kg) after 84 d than nonsupplemented cattle (271 kg). In experiment 2, cattle offered the mineral supplement had a faster ADG (20% increase; P = 0.04; 1.00 kg) than cattle not offered minerals (0.83 kg). Further, supplemented cattle weighed 4% more (P = 0.03; 326 kg) after 84 d than nonsupplemented cattle (312 kg). In both experiments, daily standing herbage dry matter averaged 1,381 kg/animal and never differed (P ≥ 0.47) between treatments. Mineral intakes averaged 135 (experiment 1) and 124 (experiment 2) g/d, resulting in a cost of supplement to kilogram of added BW gain of $0.53 and $0.64, respectively (assuming a mineral cost of $0.88/kg). Overall, supplementing an appropriate mineral mixture to cattle grazing winter-wheat pasture increased ADG in a cost-effective manner.

A comprehensive, multiround survey of local food systems in a rickets-endemic area of Bangladesh was conducted to identify household-level risk factors for rickets.A household-level, case-control study was conducted in a rickets-endemic area, Chakaria, with planned comparisons between households with one or more rachitic child and neighboring households with no affected children.A rickets-endemic area of southeastern Bangladesh, Chakaria.An interview-based survey was conducted in six villages in Chakaria with 199 households with at least one child showing physical signs consistent with rickets and 281 households with no affected children.Households with rachitic children in Chakaria had more children, more pregnant or lactating women, and fewer adults than unaffected households in that community. Affected households tended to rely on farming for their livelihood and tended to have less economic activity as indicated by less outstanding debt than their neighbors. Households with rickets were at significantly greater risk of pneumonia than were other households. Calcium undernutrition was severe and widespread in Chakaria due to a food system that offered very little of the element in accessible forms. Household diets were based on cereals and starchy vegetables. Rice and fish constituted the major source of calcium for most households, although dairy products, when used, were very important calcium sources, particularly for young children. In fact, the use of dairy products was the only household choice that led to substantial increases in the calcium intakes of children, and households that used dairy products tended to show increased calcium intakes for all of their members.The risk of a Chakarian household having a child with rickets appeared to be related to its economic status. Although this might be expected to be manifest as limitations in food access and/or use, rickets households failed to show a dietary pattern associated with rickets. Calcium undernutrition was prevalent and, thus, would appear to be a predisposing factor for rickets; however, calcium undernutrition was prevalent in Chakarian households with and without rickets. Therefore, it is probable that another precipitating factor(s) play a role(s) in the etiology of rickets in Chakaria.

Current selenium (Se) recommendations for the puppy are based on extrapolation from other species (0.11 mg Se/kg diet). The purpose of this study was to experimentally determine the Se requirement in puppies. Thirty beagle puppies (average = 8.8 weeks old) were utilized in a randomized complete block design with age, litter and gender used as blocking criteria. Puppies were fed a low Se (0.04 mg Se/kg diet) torula yeast-based diet for 14 days (pre-test period) after which this same diet was supplemented with five levels of Na2SeO3 for 21 days (experimental period) to construct a response curve (0, 0.13, 0.26, 0.39 or 0.52 mg Se/kg diet). Response variables included Se concentrations and Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase activities (GSHpx) in serum as well as serum total triiodothyronine (TT3), serum total thyroxine (TT4) and serum free T4 (FT4). No significant changes in food intake and body weight gain occurred, and no clinical signs of Se deficiency were observed. A breakpoint for serum GSHpx could not be determined in our study due to analytical difficulties. A broken-line, two-slope response in serum Se occurred with a breakpoint at 0.17 mg Se/kg diet. When Se from the basal diet was added to this estimate, the breakpoint for serum Se equated to 0.21 mg Se/kg diet. TT3 increased linearly with increasing Se intake, whereas TT4 was unchanged. However, the ratio of TT4 : TT3 decreased linearly in response to supplemental Se. In summary, although we estimated the selenium requirement for the puppy based on serum Se, our 0.21 mg Se/kg diet estimate is higher than that seen for adult dogs, kittens, rats or poultry (0.13, 0.15, 0.15 and 0.15 mg Se/kg diet respectively). This difference may be due to the fact that GSHpx was used as the biomarker of Se status.

The purpose of this study was to determine the selenium (Se) requirement in dogs. Current recommendations are based on extrapolation from other species (0.11mg/kg diet) without concern for bioavailability from ingredients unique to petfoods. Previously we have shown low bioavailability of Se in petfoods (30% average in canned diets; 50% average in extruded diets). Thus, we felt it was critical to determine experimentally the Se requirement in dogs in order to assure Se adequacy in canine petfoods. Thirty beagle puppies (8 wk old) were utilized in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with age, litter and gender used as blocking criteria. Puppies were depleted of Se by feeding a low Se (0.014mg/kg Se) torula yeast/dextrose based diet for 14 d after which this same diet was supplemented with 5 levels of for 21 d to construct a standard curve (0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20mg/kg Se). Response parameters measured included Se concentrations and Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase activities [GSHpx] in serum as well as serum total and serum total No significant changes in feed intake, weight gain or clinical signs were observed. However, a broken-line, two-slope response in serum Se occurred with a breakpoint at 0.06mg/kg. increased linearly, whereas decreased linearly in response to supplemental Se. The application of a bioavailability factor for Se to the serum Se breakpoint (e.g., 0.06/0.3 = 0.2), suggested an optimal value of 0.2mg/kg Se for canine diets. Thus, it is our recommendation that the diets for growing dogs contain a minimum of 0.2mgSe/kg diet.

It is suspected that selenium is protective against prostate cancer. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a nested case-control study in a cohort of 9345 Japanese-American men examined between 1971 and 1977. At the time of examination, a blood specimen was obtained, and the serum was frozen. After a surveillance period of more than 20 years, 249 tissue-confirmed incident cases of prostate cancer were identified. Their stored sera and those of 249 matched controls were measured for selenium levels. Odds ratios for prostate cancer, based on quartiles of serum selenium levels, were determined using the General Estimating Equations approach. The multivariate odds ratio for the highest quartile was 0.5 (95% confidence interval, 0.3-0.9) with a two-sided P for trend of 0.02. The inverse association was more notable for cases with advanced disease and for cases diagnosed 5-15 years after phlebotomy. However, the association was mainly present in current or past cigarette smokers rather than nonsmokers, which leads to caution in the interpretation of the results.

To understand nutritional rickets in Bangladesh better, 14 rachitic and 13 'unaffected' children were evaluated. Seventy per cent of children with active rickets had no evidence of either vitamin D deficiency or familial rickets. Rickets in Bangladesh is probably related to calcium deficiency. Abnormalities in 'unaffected' children suggest that subclinical calcium insufficiency is common.

Link traditional agricultural production disciplines to the food sciences and the various disciplines concerned with human nutrition and health in order to find sustainable solutions to malnutrition.Develop a new integrated program area within a university by forging explicit linkages within a wide array of disciplines concerned with food systems and human health.The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Human Ecology, the Division of Nutrition, and the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Development at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.Use food-based, system approaches to meet human nutrition goals. Current focus is on the provision of micronutrients (especially iron, vitamin A and iodine) for people globally.A new program area 'Food Systems for Health' has been developed at Cornell University. The program fosters effective interdisciplinary research, teaching and extension activities directed towards sustainable improvements in human nutrition and health.The old paradigms of agriculture, human nutrition, and public health must be shifted from current linear approaches to integrated and interactive approaches if effective long-term, food-based solutions to micronutrient malnutrition are to be found.

The hypothesis that a dietary supplement of selenium (Se) may reduce cancer risk was tested experimentally in humans. Patients with histories of basal/squamous cell carcinomas of the skin were assigned randomly in double-blind fashion to daily oral supplements of either Se-enriched yeast (200 micrograms Se/day), or a low-Se yeast placebo. A total of 1312 patients recruited in 1983-1990 were followed with regular dermatologic examinations through 1993 for a total of 8269 person-years of observation. Skin cancer diagnoses were confirmed histologically. Plasma Se concentration was determined at 6-12 months intervals. All deaths and patient-reported illnesses were recorded; reported cancers were confirmed and documented by consultation with the patient medical care providers. The results indicate that Se did not significantly affect the primary endpoints: incidences of recurrent basal/squamous cell carcinomas of the skin. However, Se-treatment was associated with reductions in several secondary endpoints: total mortality, mortality from all cancers combined, as well as the incidence of all cancers combined, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. The consistencies of these associations over time, between study clinics and for the leading cancer sites strongly suggests benefits of Se-supplementation for this cohort of patients, supporting the hypothesis that supplemental Se can reduce cancer risk. Although Se did not shown protective effects against non-melanoma skin cancers, the suggested reductions in risks to other frequent cancers demand further evaluation in well controlled clinical intervention trials.

To determine whether a nutritional supplement of selenium will decrease the incidence of cancer.A multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled cancer prevention trial.Seven dermatology clinics in the eastern United States.A total of 1312 patients (mean age, 63 years; range, 18-80 years) with a history of basal cell or squamous cell carcinomas of the skin were randomized from 1983 through 1991. Patients were treated for a mean (SD) of 4.5 (2.8) years and had a total follow-up of 6.4 (2.0) years.Oral administration of 200 microg of selenium per day or placebo.The primary end points for the trial were the incidences of basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin. The secondary end points, established in 1990, were all-cause mortality and total cancer mortality, total cancer incidence, and the incidences of lung, prostate, and colorectal cancers.After a total follow-up of 8271 person-years, selenium treatment did not significantly affect the incidence of basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer. There were 377 new cases of basal cell skin cancer among patients in the selenium group and 350 cases among the control group (relative risk [RR], 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.95-1.28), and 218 new squamous cell skin cancers in the selenium group and 190 cases among the controls (RR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.93-1.39). Analysis of secondary end points revealed that, compared with controls, patients treated with selenium had a nonsignificant reduction in all-cause mortality (108 deaths in the selenium group and 129 deaths in the control group [RR; 0.83; 95% CI, 0.63-1.08]) and significant reductions in total cancer mortality (29 deaths in the selenium treatment group and 57 deaths in controls [RR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.31-0.80]), total cancer incidence (77 cancers in the selenium group and 119 in controls [RR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.47-0.85]), and incidences of lung, colorectal, and prostate cancers. Primarily because of the apparent reductions in total cancer mortality and total cancer incidence in the selenium group, the blinded phase of the trial was stopped early. No cases of selenium toxicity occurred.Selenium treatment did not protect against development of basal or squamous cell carcinomas of the skin. However, results from secondary end-point analyses support the hypothesis that supplemental selenium may reduce the incidence of, and mortality from, carcinomas of several sites. These effects of selenium require confirmation in an independent trial of appropriate design before new public health recommendations regarding selenium supplementation can be made

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine whether plasma selenium concentration predicts the prevalence of adenomatous polyps of the colon and rectum. The source population for the study was 101 patients undergoing sequential colonoscopies at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tucson, AZ. The study population was then limited to the 48 patients (all male) undergoing their initial colonoscopy who did not have a diagnosis of colorectal cancer. For each of these patients, a prediagnostic fasting plasma selenium concentration was determined. The data from this study suggest that fasting plasma selenium concentrations may be an important risk factor for colorectal adenomas. Patients with fasting plasma selenium concentrations below the median (128 mcg/liter) were significantly more likely to have one or more adenomatous polyps (prevalence odds ratio 4.2) and more adenomatous polyps (3.5 times) per patient. There was also a suggestion of a more proximal distribution of adenomatous polyps in the patients with a lower level of selenium. These associations were not confounded by age or smoking. The results of this study are consistent with the experimental animal studies, geographic mortality studies, and prospective cohort studies of selenium and colorectal cancer.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether topical L-selenomethionine reduces the degree of acute damage to the skin (i.e., sunburn) induced by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation in humans. Eight women volunteers were treated for 2 weeks first with lotion vehicle then with topical L-selenomethionine for two weeks at each of three concentrations (0.002%, 0.02%, and 0.05%). At the end of each 2-week treatment period, the minimal erythema dose (MED) of UV irradiation was measured using a Multiport Solar Ultraviolet Simulator. It was found that topical L-selenomethionine was effective in protecting against acute UV damage to the skin. A response curve demonstrated that increasing concentrations of topical L-selenomethionine gave increasing MED, with a plateau of maximal protection attained at a concentration between 0.02% and 0.05%. Although previous studies in rats and mice demonstrated percutaneous absorption of selenium after application of L-selenomethionine, in the concentrations used here, the topical L-selenomethionine did not result in increased levels of selenium in the blood plasma of the patients tested.

Se is an essential nutrient that provides antioxidant protection in concert with vitamin E. Several selenoproteins have been identified, but only one, SeGSHpx, has a known function, that of neutralizing toxic hydroperoxides. Plasma Se concentration, being responsive to changes in Se intake, is the most practical and widely used measure of nutritional Se status. The plasma Se concentrations of the majority of healthy infants and children fall within the range of 50 to 150 micrograms/L. Although SeGSHpx activity measures the metabolically functional form of Se, the lack of a standardized analytical method has limited its usefulness as an index of nutritional Se status. Se deficiency was first observed in animals, but it is now recognized to occur in humans. Two human diseases associated with severe nutritional Se deficiency have been reported from China: a juvenile cardiomyopathy named Keshan disease and a chondrodystrophy named Kaschin-Beck disease. Long-term TPN, which provides negligible amounts of intrinsic Se, has been demonstrated in some cases to result in biochemical and clinical impairment. Although there are no consistent signs and symptoms characteristic of TPN-associated Se deficiency in addition to the low blood selenium levels, some patients will experience leg muscle pain and altered serum transaminase and creatine kinase activities. These manifestation of Se deficiency usually take years to develop. Recent information about the amount of dietary Se needed to maximize plasma SeGSHpx activity in adult men has allowed for better estimates of the Se requirement for humans. Recommended daily dietary allowances published recently by the National Academy of Sciences have been revised for infants and children in this paper by making appropriate adjustments for the protein requirements of these age-groups. These recommended intakes for Se can generally be met by consuming adequate amounts of cereals, meat, eggs, dairy products, human milk, and infant formula, which are good sources of highly available Se and are of low risk of providing excess amounts of Se. Suboptimal Se intakes by pregnant women may predispose their infants to low Se status at birth, which in turn may affect the infants ability to maintain adequate Se status during the first few months of life. In those situations where protein intake is restricted, such as in phenylketonuria and maple syrup urine disease, Se-supplemented formulas should be used. The most critical situation for Se supplementation is in pediatric patients receiving long-term TPN therapy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The National Institutes of Health support seven Clinical Nutrition Research Units, which are designed to create or strengthen nutrition research, training, and education through coordinated effort, intellectual stimulation, and use of shared resources. Research at the participating institutions focuses on the role of nutrition in cancer, cardiovascular disease, renal disease, digestive diseases, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and other illnesses. Contributing substantially to the development of this nutrition research base have been Clinical Nutrition Research Unit-supported pilot studies, core laboratories, and new investigators. In the clinical setting, Clinical Nutrition Research Unit Nutritional Support Services assist in the care of patients receiving total parenteral nutrition and those with anorexia nervosa, burns, cancer, and a spectrum of nutrition-related problems. Participation of Clinical Nutrition Research Unit staff in training activities range from undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate education courses for medical students and other health professionals to continuing education workshops, lecture series, and information programs for professional and lay audiences.

early recognition as a factor required for animal reproduction. Further studies broadened recognition of the nutritional significance of vitamin E by demonstrating that it prevented encephalomalacia in chicks and nutritional myopathies in guinea pigs, rabbits, and ducklings. These findings stimulated many investigators to study the nutritional value of vitamin E in a wide variety of animals. This resulted in the recognition of several very dissimilar vitamin E-responsive syndromes prior to the isolation and characterization of the vitamin. Thirteen years after its discovery, vitamin E was isolated from wheat germ oil and named o-tocopherol by Evans et al. (1936). a-Tocopherol is a tetra

Experiments were conducted to determine the nature of the effect of dietary ascorbic acid on selenium nutrition in the chick. Results showed that ascorbic acid resulted in increased activities of the selenium-containing enzyme glutathione peroxidase in plasma, accompanied by an apparent reduction in the dietary selenium requirement of the vitamin E-deficient chick. The ascorbic acid contents of plasma, liver, kidney and adrenals were not affected by selenium or vitamin E deficiencies, indicating that selenium-vitamin E deficient chicks are not rendered scorbutic. Ab sorption experiments using ligated duodenal loops or oral doses indicated that dietary ascorbic acid promoted the enteric absorption of selenium but did not affect the absorption of vitamin E. These results support the hypothesis previously reported that factors which inhibit the oxidation of dietary selenium promote its absorption and, perhaps, its post-absorptive utilization in metabolically active components of the cell. J. Nutr. 106: 958-966,1976.

Polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs] are chlorinated hydrocarbons which have been used in a variety of industrial applications ranging from consumer plastics to heat exchangers. More than thirty years ...

Broilers aged 4, 5 and 6 weeks were selected from 8 commercial flocks which had been accidentally exposed to dieldrin in feeds. The birds were given a dieldrin-free ration and were reared to 10 weeks of age. Dieldrin residues in visceral fat were determined weekly. Results indicated that dieldrin residues are rapidly diluted in the growing chick with a half-time for dilution of approximately 12 days.

Studies were conducted to determine the primary loci of gastrointestinal absorption of inorganic selenium in the chick using radiotracer techniques and Eimeria sp. infections of known site specificity for the gastrointestinal tract. Results showed that coccidial infections in the anterior regions of the small intestine reduced selenium absorption and potentiated selenium deficiency among chicks fed critical levels of the mineral. Absorption experiments showed that selenium absorption was greatest in the duodenum and anterior ileum, although selenium was bound at least transiently to tissues in the gizzard and crop. It is concluded from these experiments that dietary inorganic selenium is absorbed primarily in the duodenum and anterior ileum. Factors such as enteric disease which disrupt the integrity of the anterior intestinal mucosa can, therefore, reduce the absorption of selenium and other nutrients absorbed in that region, resulting in a potentiation of nutritional deficiencies.

THE problem of describing both the quantity and availability of each essential amino acid in foodstuffs is presently limited by methodology. Many methods have been developed to investigate the quality of various proteins, as well as to determine the availability of amino acids contained within them (Bragg et al., 1969; Combs et al., 1968; Dean and Scott, 1966; Ford, 1962; Guttridge et al., 1961; Carpenter, 1960; Longenecker and Hause, 1959; Ousterhout et al., 1959; Denton and Elvehjem, 1954; and Block and Mitchell, 1947). However, none of these methods have been successfully used on sufficient samples and/or different types of proteins to investigate the availability of the total amino acids spectrum simultaneously. Consequently, reliable data describing the specific availability of essential amino acids in proteins is limiting and, for some amino acids, is not available. The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the apparent digestibility of amino acids in…

(1953). Unidentified Factors for Poultry. World's Poultry Science Journal: Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 93-96.

dl -Thioctic acid was added to two different purified and one practical chick ration and fed to chicks of three different genetic sources and from dams fed different diets without effect as measured by growth and feed efficiency.

SummaryVitamin B12-deficient chicks were fed vitamin B12-deficient basal diets supplemented with 0, 1 and 4% glycine in combination with 0, 3, and 30 μg of vitamin B12 (supplied by Merck's APF Supplement No. 3) per kilogram. The growth of the chicks that received either 1 or 4% added glycine in the vitamin B12-deficient basal diets was depressed. Those chicks which received 4% added glycine without vitamin B12 suffered excessive mortality. The addition of as little as 3 micrograms of vitamin B12 per kilo of diet overcame the inhibitory action of both levels of glycine. These results indicate that vitamin B12 functions in the metabolism of glycine.

SINCE the initial reports of Carlson et al. (1949), Menge et al. (1949) and Wiese et al. (1949) showing the need by the chick for an unidentified growth factor or factors, considerable effort has been directed toward the development and use of suitable chick assays. Much of this work has been reviewed by Menge et al. (1952), Branion and Hill (1953), Combs et al. (1954a), Lillie et al. (1953) and Pappenhagen et al. (1953). The observations reported in this paper were made in unidentified factor experiments conducted during a two-year period at this station. An effort has been made to determine some of the causes of variability encountered in our experimental assay. EXPERIMENTAL Day-old New Hampshire chicks of both sexes were employed in all experiments except experiment 6 in which New Hamp-shire × Silver Cornish crossbred males were used. 3 All New Hampshire chicks were the progeny of dams housed on …

IN STUDIES with poults, utilizing a washed Drackett protein-sucrose basal diet calculated to be adequate in known nutrients, a mixture of unidentified growth factor supplements was found to markedly improve growth and to be protective against a non-rachitic hock disorder of undetermined etiology (Supplee et al., 1956; Supplee, 1957). The ash of this mixture as well as the ash of corn distillers’ dried solubles was found to promote approximately one-half as great a growth response as the supplement mixture but failed to improve the hock condition. Tests of higher levels of various nutrients, including minerals, had not improved either growth or hock condition. O’Dell and Savage (1957) obtained an increase in growth with chicks upon adding 0.5% KCl and 0.01% ZnCO3 to a Drackett protein-cerelose diet containing 0.116% added potassium and 6.6 ppm. added zinc. The effects of KCl and ZnCO3 added singly were less clear. As the potassium content . . .

A previous report (Arscott and Combs, 1953) revealed that condensed fish solubles contain a factor necessary for normal hatchability in New Hampshire pullets fed a corn-wheat-soybean meal type ration containing adequate levels of known required nutrients. In an attempt to increase the severity of the dietary deficiency, an experimental diet, containing 93.5% oat groats, was used in this investigation. This diet (Table 1), fortified with added vitamins, minerals and dl -methionine, was expected to be quite deficient in the unidentified factor(s) normally found in animal products. Approximately 200 New Hampshire pullets were housed in pens equipped with raised wire floors. These pullets were fed a corn-wheat-soybean meal ration for the first half of a 12-week preliminary period, after which time the basal diet shown in Table 1 was used. On the basis of individual hatchability, fertility and egg production records obtained during the first half of this preliminary period, four comparable …

IT HAS been demonstrated during the past few years that turkeys require dietary zinc for growth and for bone and feather development. Studies with purified experimental diets have indicated that a level of approximately 60–65 ppm. zinc is required for optimum results (Supplee et al., 1958a; Kratzer et al., 1958; Scott, 1959). Although practical turkey rations cannot be expected to contain more than 45 ppm. adventitious zinc, few studies dealing with zinc supplementation have been reported. Slinger et al. (1956) reported that the addition of 50 ppm. zinc to rations containing 58 ppm. adventitious zinc resulted in a significant increase in the four week weight of male poults but tended to produce decreased female weight. When 25 ppm. of aureomycin was included in the ration, the general growth level was increased and supplementary zinc was without effect on the weight of either sex. In a four-week test conducted in …

SummaryAn operative technic for the removal of the yolk from day-old chicks has been described. This procedure was developed to render chicks relatively free of the nutrients transmitted through the yolk from the dam. Observations on the growth rate of deutectomized chicks as compared with that of unoperated controls show that the operation had little or no effect on growth when an adequately supplemented diet was supplied. The results of these trials demonstrate that vit. B12 or a substance possessing vit. B12 activity was present in the yolk of the day-old chick and that it was removed by deutectomy.

SEVERAL investigators have presented evidence which reveals that unidentified factors are required for growth of chicks and poults. Much of the work conducted with chicks has been reviewed by Combs (1951) and Menge et al. (1952). The latter workers also presented results which indicate that two distinct unidentified growth factors are required by chicks. One of these was present in certain liver preparations and dried brewers’ yeast, while the other was present in dried whey products. Studies with poults also reveal the presence of unidentified growth factors in fish meal (Combs and Shaffner, 1950; McGinnis et al., 1952; and Sizemore and Combs, unpublished), fish solubles (Patrick, 1951; and Atkinson and Couch, 1951), crab meal (Combs and Shaffner, 1950), dried brewers’ yeast (Combs and Shaffner, 1950; Scott, 1951; and Sizemore and Combs, unpublished), grass and alfalfa juice, distillers’ dried solubles, and skim milk (Scott, 1951), dried whey, butyl molasses solubles, butyl . . .

IT HAS been reported that continuous use of antibiotics for growth promotion of chicks resulted in a decrease in their effectiveness (Waibel et al., 1954; Libby and Schaible, 1955; Sherman et al., 1959). McGinnis et al. (1958) reported that erythromycin thiocyonate and oleandomycin phosphate improved growth of chicks while other antibiotics which had been used for several years failed to do so. Similarly, Wiese and Petersen (1959) observed that chicks responded much better to erythromycin and spontin than to penicillin. Heath and Bird (1962) on the other hand, found no long term changes in growth response of chicks to procaine penicillin or the tetracyclines during the period 1950 to 1961. Moreover, Creek and Schumaier (1960) obtained significant chick growth responses from oxytetracycline, penicillin, zinc bacitracin and oleandomycin as well as from erythromycin, spontin and tylosin. Teague (1962) also failed to demonstrate a consistent decrease in the effect of chlortetraclycine in…

TAYLOR (1947) reported that 12 micrograms of folic acid 4 per 100 grams of diet was an adequate level to support normal egg production in White Leghorn yearling hens fed a semi-purified diet. This amount, however, was not adequate for normal hatchability. Schweigert and associates (1948), in studies with White Leghorn pullets also fed a semi-purified diet, found that 42 micrograms of folic acid 4 per 100 grams of diet was adequate for normal egg production, hatchability, hemoglobin levels, and general appearance. Cravens and Halpin (1949), on the other hand, reported the folic acid requirement for normal hatchability in White Leghorn pullets to be approximately 50 to 100 micrograms per 100 grams of diet. These workers used a synthetic diet which did not favor intestinal synthesis of this vitamin. A level of 25 micrograms of folic acid per 100 grams of ration was found to be adequate for normal egg production. Very . . .

THE use of estrogenic substances in turkeys has been reviewed by Lorenz (1953). Improvement in carcass finish through the administration of diethylstilbesterol or dienesterol diacetate to turkeys has been reported by Lorenz (1944), Almquist and Merritt (1952), Thayer and Davis (1948), Smyth and Vondell (1955), Adams (1956 Adams (1957), Miner et al. (1957), and Mountney et al. (1957). These investigators generally reported that rate of gain was also improved. In previous work at this station (Combs et al., 1958), dienesterol diacetate significantly improved growth rate of turkey fryers from 12 to 15 weeks of age. Combs and Romoser (1955), Donaldson et al. (1955, 1956), Robel et al. (1956), Rand et al. (1957), Spring and Wilkinson (1957), with chickens, and Scott et al. (1957), with ducklings, have noted that the body fat content is influenced by the Calorie-protein ratio of the diet. Donaldson et al. (1958) found this also to be true . . .

THE availability of vitamin B12 for use in experimental work following its isolation by Rickes and co-workers (1948) and Smith (1948), has made possible further progress in the study of unidentified dietary factors required for rapid growth of the chick and poult. Ott et al. (1948) found that under their experimental conditions crystalline vitamin B12 produced a growth response comparable with that obtained with various crude supplements of animal origin. Lillie et al. (1948) confirmed these observations and obtained a similar response from cow manure factor concentrates described by Rubin and Bird (1946). Nichol et al. (1949) also reported that vitamin B12 was as effective in promoting chick growth in their studies as condensed fish solubles or injectable liver preparations. Thus, much of the unexplained growth-stimulating activity obtained with materials primarily of animal origin can be attributed to their vitamin B12 content. It is extremely difficult, however, to explain entirely . . .

THE need for supplemental methionine in broiler rations has become more critical since soybean meal has been used to replace all or part of the animal protein supplements formerly used. The work of Bird and Mattingly (1945) Clandinin et al. (1946), Gerry et al. (1948), and Milligan et al. (1951) has shown that rations containing corn and soybean meal as the sole source of protein are improved with methionine supplementation. Results obtained by workers at the Dow Chemical Company (1951) have shown that the addition of dl -methionine to chick rations improved feed efficiency and had a variable effect on growth. Bird and Mattingly (1945) also demonstrated that the growth response obtained from the addition of 0.2% dl -methionine was slightly in excess of that obtained by the addition of 4% fish meal. The data obtained by Machlin et al. (1952) reveals that both vitamin B12 and methionine are necessary for maximum …

NUMEROUS investigators have clearly demonstrated that vitamin B12 is required by the chick for rapid growth (Ott et al., 1948; Lillie et al., 1948; and others). Nevertheless, the level of this vitamin required varies considerably with different experimental conditions. Ott (1951) found that chicks from dams fed an all-vegetable protein ration, required 27 micrograms of vitamin B12 per kilogram of diet. On the other hand, Davis and Briggs (1951) found that only 1.5 to 2 micrograms of vitamin B12 per kilogram of ration were required for optimum growth of chicks from dams maintained on built-up litter and fed a standard breeder ration containing animal protein. In addition, Norris et al. (1950) have observed that the vitamin B12 requirement of chicks is correlated with their vitamin B12 reserves at the time of hatching. They found that chicks from vitamin B12-depleted dams required 5 micrograms of vitamin B12 per kilogram of ration, . . .

INTRODUCTION A PART from the work of McWard and Scott (1961), there has been very little work published during the past 15 years on the sodium requirement of the young chick. There have, however, been studies to determine the sodium requirements of turkeys (Kumpost and Sullivan, 1966) and of pheasants and quail (Scott et al., 1960). McWard and Scott (1961) concluded from two studies that broiler strain chicks, maintained on wire floors and fed a glucose-isolated soybean protein diet, required 0.11% sodium for maximum growth. This sodium requirement was considerably lower than was found by Heuser (1952) and by Burns et al. (1953). Heuser (1952) reported that White Leghorn chicks, maintained on wire and fed a practical type diet which contained 0.247% sodium (by analysis), required the addition of 0.25 % sodium chloride for maximum growth. Thus, the results indicate a sodium requirement of approximately 0.35%. Burns et al. (1953)…

FOLLOWING the work of Menge et al. (1949), which showed that chicks require an unidentified growth factor in addition to vitamin B12 and other known nutrients, numerous similar observations have been reported. Most of these have been reviewed by Combs (1951), Menge et al. (1952), Briggs (1952) and Branion and Hill (1953). In a preliminary report, Arscott and Combs (1950) presented results which indicated that chicks fed a corn-soybean oil meal type ration responded to two different growth factors. One factor was present in fish meal; the other was supplied by butyl molasses fermentation solubles. Kohler and Graham (1951), and Couch et al. (1952) with chicks and Scott and Jensen (1952) with poults, have obtained similar evidence for two distinct factors. It also has been noted that certain orally administered antibiotics appear to spare the dietary requirement of the chick for unidentified growth factors (Groschke, 1950; Jones and Combs, 1951; …

BOTH methionine and choline are known to furnish labile methyl groups as well as assume independent essential roles in nutrition. The work of Klose and Almquist (1941), Gillis and Norris (1951), Jukes and Stockstad (1952), Stekol et al. (1953) and others has established the common role of these compounds as methyl donors Young, Norris and Heuser (1954), using vitamin B12 depleted chicks and a basal diet deficient in choline, methionine and vitamin B12, found supplementation with mono-methylaminoethanol, homocystine, and betaine, both in the presence and absence of vitamin B12, to be utilized as effectively as equimolar concentrations of dietary choline and methionine. In the absence of sufficient betaine to methylate adequately the precursors of choline or methionine, vitamin B12 improved the growth rate indicating that it is required in the synthesis of methyl groups in chicks, but not for transmethylation reactions. Choline is also known to be associated with fat…

SEVERAL reports concerning the need for unidentified growth factors by the poult have been referred to by Atkinson et al. (1955). Improved growth of poults was reported by Combs and Shaffner (1950) and Menge and Combs (1952) at this station when dried brewers’ yeast, fish meal, crab meal or liver concentrates were added to corn-soybean meal type rations. Scott and Jensen (1952) and Combs et al. (1954b), using refined experimental diets, obtained evidence which indicated that more than one unidentified growth factor is required by the poult. One of these, according to the latter group, is supplied by dried brewers’ yeast, dried whey products, dried molasses distillers’ solubles and certain fermentation products. The present study involves the addition of dried brewers’ yeast, dried whey, dried molasses distillers’ solubles, dried butyl fermentation solubles and two other fermentation products to practical type turkey broiler rations which contained animal protein supplements. PROCEDURE Three . . .

OLCESE et al. (1950), Olcese and Couch (1950), and Peeler et al. (1951), have presented evidence for an unidentified dietary essential required by the hen for normal hatchability of fertile eggs in addition to other known nutrients, including vitamin B12. Couch, Olcese, Sanders and Halick (1950) have reported the presence of this unidentified factor in liver fraction “L,” and to a lesser extent, in an APF concentrate fed alone or in combination with dried whey. A sample of fish solubles, however, failed to improve hatchability under their experimental conditions. On the other hand, Stephenson and Clower (1952) have recently obtained results which indicate that condensed fish solubles contain an unidentified hatchability factor. The data reported herein provide additional evidence for the presence of such an unidentified factor in condensed fish solubles. EXPERIMENTAL In an experiment originally designed to accurately determine the vitamin B12 requirement of New Hampshire pullets, approximately 200 …

NEWELL, Peterson, and Elvehjem (1947) reported that dried penicillin mycelium, produced under pilot plant conditions, could be successfully used as a supplement to soybean oil meal in chick rations. These workers found dried mycelium to be a good natural source of riboflavin and fed levels up to 20 percent of the ration with no harmful effects. No observations have been reported, however, on the use of penicillin mycelium produced under commercial conditions. Culton and Bird (1940) found that the addition of dried skimmilk to a riboflavin-low diet resulted in more rapid growth of chicks than was obtained by the addition of an equivalent amount of crystalline riboflavin. Other unpublished results 3 from this laboratory also show a slightly greater improvement in the growth of chicks when riboflavin was supplied in the form of a butyl fermentation residue than when crystalline riboflavin was fed. Since it has been shown by Bethke and . . .

INTRODUCTION GROWTH rate feed consumption, body composition and feathering of broiler chickens have been shown to be influenced by the ratio of energy to protein content of the ration (Baldini and Rosenberg, 1955; Combs and Romoser, 1955; Combs et al., 1955a, b; Donaldson et al., 1955, 1956; Leong et al., 1955; Matterson et al., 1955; Scott et al., 1955; and Sunde, 1956). More recently, similar observations have been made in studies with turkey rations. Lockhart and Thayer (1955) reported that poults grew best when fed a starting ration having a Calorie-protein ration4 of 29:1. Ferguson et al. (1956a) in dicated that the optimum Calorie-protein ratio for the turkey poult to eight weeks of age was between 25 and 31:1. In close agreement with this work is that of Atkinson et al. (1956) which indicates that up to eight weeks, the poult requires a protein level of 30 to 32% with . . .