Role of Yolk in Chick Embryo Mortality Induced by the Feeding of Sterculia Foetida Oil

INTRODUCTION CHICK embryo mortality may be induced by the feeding of oils containing cyclopropenoid fatty acids. Schneider et al. (1961) reported that the daily administration of 50 mg. of Sterculia foetida oil (S.F.O.) to individual hens may result in nearly 100% embryo mortality. Excessive embryo mortality was also observed by Kemmerer et al. (1965) who fed diets containing S.F.O. or crude cottonseed oil. Both oils contain substantial quantities of cyclopropenoid fatty acids. There are no detailed studies to indicate whether the cyclopropenoid fatty acids of these oils are the only factors which cause embryo mortality. McDonald and Shenstone (in Phelps et al., 1965), however, reported 100% embryo mortality in an experiment in which purified sterculic acid, the major cyclopropenoid of S.F.O., was fed. The amount of sterculic acid fed (25 mg. per hen, daily) was approximately equivalent to that supplied by 50 mg. of S.F.O. in the studies of Schneider…