The influence of gonadal hormones and biotin deficiency upon liver lipid composition and liver fatty acid distribution in female chicks fed either a fat-free or fat-supplemented diet

Abstract

1. 1. Experiments were conducted in which immature female chicks, being fed either a fat-free or a fat-supplemented diet, were made biotin-deficient and then given injections of oestradiol dipropionate and testosterone propionate, with or without injections of biotin. 2. 2. Biotin deficiency resulted in the production of fatty livers in the deficient chicks and in an increase in the proportion of liver 16-carbon to 18-carbon fatty acids. 3. 3. No significant differences were obtained in the fatty acid compositions of hormone-treated chicks and no evidence was found of any inhibitor effect of biotin deficiency on the response of liver lipid metabolism to hormone stimulation.