Sole Source Of Vitamin Research Articles

24-hydroxylation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3: is it required for embryonic development in chicks?

As shown previously, laying hens given 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 as their sole source of vitamin D produce fertile eggs having normal shells, but only 35 to 55 percent of the embryos are normal. Giving these hens additional 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, or 24,24-difluoro-25-hydroxyvitamin D3 at 1.25 nanomoles per day resulted in 90 to 100 percent normal embryos, and hence, hatchability. Since 24,24-difluoro-25-hydroxyvitamin D3 cannot be 24-hydroxylated, 24-hydroxylation is not required for this function of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3.

The Essentiality of Vitamin D Metabolites for Embryonic Chick Development

Laying hens maintained on 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 as their sole source of vitamin D produce eggs which appear normal but which produce embryos having a defective upper mandible and which die at 18 to 19 days of embryonic life. Hens maintained on 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, on the other hand, produce normal embryos. Hens fed a vitamin D deficient diet produce eggs which develop the same embryonic defect. Injection of the affected eggs from the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 fed hens with vitamin D3, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 greatly increases the percentage of normal embryos. It therefore appears that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is not transferred from hen to egg in sufficient amounts to support embryonic development and that vitamin D or its metabolites, or both, are necessary for normal chick embryo development.

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D 3 metabolism : The effect of dietary calcium and phosphorus

Rats maintained on tritiated 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 as their sole source of vitamin D and placed on diets differing in calcium content had similar intestinal levels of tritiated 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3. Since 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 administration eliminated adaptation of intestinal calcium transport, it appears that increased production of 1,25-dihydroxyritamin D 3 is responsible for the stimulation of calcium transport by low dietary calcium. When maintained on tritiated 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3, rats fed a low-phosphorus diet had somewhat higher levels of tritiated 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 in the duodenum and plasma than rats on a normal-phosphorus diet. In addition to stimulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 synthesis, low dietary phosphorus may increase the accumulation of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 in both intestine and plasma.

The biological activity of retinoic acid in the domestic fowl and the effects of vitamin A deficiency on the chick embryo.

1. Male and female chickens were reared from hatching on vitamin A-free diets, either unsupplemented or containing retinoic acid (vitamin A acid), methyl retinoate or retinyl acetate (vitamin A acetate). The birds given retinyl acetate grew well and had a normal appearance, but those given the unsupplemented diet died before 4 weeks of age after developing typical signs of avitaminosis A. The birds given retinoic acid or methyl retinoate did not show overt signs of vitamin A deficiency or other abnormalities except for a progressive failure of vision. Minimal histological changes were found in their retinas, and their vision was rapidly restored after feeding with retinyl acetate.2. The cocks maintained with retinoic acid or methyl retinoate had normal testes and the hens laid eggs at a normal rate, but although their eggs could be obtained fertile the development of the embryo became abnormal after 2 days incubation and it always died. The development of the embryos could be stimulated and sometimes restored to normal by injection of various forms of vitamin A into the eggs before incubation, or by previous administration of retinyl acetate to the hens.3. It is concluded that feeding retinoic acid as the sole source of vitamin A enables the hen to produce eggs that lack vitamin A but are otherwise normal, thus permitting the demonstration of a hitherto undescribed requirement of the early chick embryo for vitamin A.4. The toxicity of vitamin A derivatives to chick embryos was investigated; injected retinoic acid was found to be extremely toxic.

Studies on metabolism of vitamin A. The effect of hormones on gestation in retinoate-fed female rats.

1. Female rats, raised to maturity on a vitamin A-deficient diet supplemented with retinoate as the sole source of vitamin A, conceived when allowed to mate with normal males, but the conception resulted in foetal resorption, beginning from day 14 or 15 of pregnancy. 2. Daily injections of pregnenolone or oestradiol-17beta, but not of progesterone, were fully effective, and transplantation of pituitary homografts under kidney capsules was 80% effective, in preventing resorption. 3. Unilateral ovariectomy, leading to compensatory hypertrophy of the remaining ovary, resulted in significantly fewer corpora lutea and in lower weight of the hypertrophied ovary of the retinoate-treated rats, as compared with the corresponding retinyl acetate-fed ones. 4. The activity of the enzyme system Delta(5)-3beta-hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase was significantly less in the ovaries of the retinoate-fed rats that were subjected to unilateral ovariectomy or were made pregnant, when compared with that of the corresponding controls. Also, the ovaries of the retinoate-treated rats were insensitive to both exogenous and endogenous gonadotrophin stimulus. 5. These results indicate that one of the reasons for foetal resorption in the retinoate-fed rats might be inadequate synthesis of steroid hormones such as pregnenolone and oestrogen.

Vitamin A Activity of β-Apo-Carotenals in Coturnix Coturnix Japonica

A study was made to determine the vitamin A activity of β-apocarotenals for Coturnix coturnix japonica (Japanese quail). β-Apo-8´-carotenal, β-apo-10´-carotenal and β-apo-12´-carotenal prepared from β-carotene and synthetic β-apo-8´-carotenal and β-apo-12´-carotenal were used. Growth, viability, egg production, fertility, hatchability of eggs, and viability and growth of progeny demonstrate that these β-apo-carotenals are vitamin A-active compounds. When the β-apo-carotenals were fed, substantial quantities of vitamin A were found in blood serum, liver and egg yolk, which are further evidence of the vitamin activity of β-apo-carotenals. Vitamin A content of blood serum and liver of male quail was higher than that of females. The data indicate that these β-apo-carotenals can be used as a sole source of vitamin A for Japanese quail.

Effects of Antioxidants, DPPD and BHT, on Health, Production and Reproduction of Laying Hens

ABSTRACT POTTER et al. (1956) reported that addition of DPPD (di-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine) to a semi-purified broiler diet low in vitamin A, containing alfalfa meal as the sole source of vitamin A activity, produced substantial increases in vitamin A and carotenoids of the blood plasma and liver of the birds but addition of BHT (dietertiary-butyl-para-cresol) resulted in relatively small increases. Matterson et al. (1955) reported that, at the levels of vitamin A studied, storage of the vitamin in the liver was enhanced two to five times when DPPD was in the feed, and plasma vitamin A also was increased but not so markedly. Those workers believed that the increased storage resulted from better utilization of the vitamin after consumption, not simply from protection in the feed. Quisenberry and Matterson (1955), however, found that DPPD in the feed had little effect on pigmentation of broilers. Likewise, Parrish and Shellenberger (1956) found that the inclusion . . .

Use of a supplemented evaporated milk in the routine feeding of infants; its influence on blood serum vitamin C, the stools, and growth and development.

REPORTS by McCollum and Grubb 1 and Vignec and associates 2 indicate the dependability of a completely supplemented evaporated milk (except for carbohydrate) as the sole source of food supply to provide all the vital food elements necessary for the normal growth and development of infants. In the present study, an estimation was made of the usefulness of a similar milk as the sole source of vitamin C in an otherwise customary diet of infants during the first year of life. The threefold purpose of this study of an evaporated milk fortified with vitamins and minerals (hereinafter referred to as special milk) 3 was to determine (1) its effectiveness in maintaining a normal vitamin C level in the blood serum, (2) its influence on the frequency and character of the stools during the first three months of infancy and (3) its effectiveness in supporting normal growth and development. To this

Some Experiments on the Physiology of Vitamin A Storage in the Chick

IN A previous paper (Rubin et al., 1941) evidence was presented that border-line vitamin A deficiency, as indicated by liver storage assays, is quite common among chicks raised on commercial poultry farms. These experiments were based on the supposition that liver storage of vitamin A is directly related to intake. However, the possibility of other factors influencing vitamin A storage was not excluded, and the experiments to be reported in this paper were undertaken to investigate some of the more likely possibilities.In the first place, it seemed worthwhile to determine the comparative efficiency of vitamin A storage in the liver when carotene is the sole source of vitamin A potency and when vitamin A is supplied as such. Since it has been reported that carotene is more stable in mixed feeds than is vitamin A (Fraps and Kemmerer, 1937), it seemed quite possible that some chicks in commercial flocks .

The Vitamin A Requirements of Chicks with Observations on the Comparative Efficiency of Carotene and Vitamin A

ALTHOUGH the literature contains numerous reports which show that the chicken requires vitamin A, there is little data available on the minimum requirements of this factor by the chick. Hauge, Carrick, and Prange (1926–1927) reported that 25 percent of yellow corn in the ration appeared to meet the vitamin A requirements of chicks to 10 weeks of age and that 50 percent of yellow corn appeared to supply sufficient vitamin A for the development of pullets to the laying stage. Smith (1933) also reported normal growth and viability in chicks up to 12 weeks of age when 25 percent or more of the total ration was made up of yellow corn. Kline, Schultze, and Hart (1932) found that 0.03 mg. of carotene daily was not sufficient as a sole source of vitamin A when chicks reached an age of seven to eight weeks. The same investigators reported that chicks .

PREVENTION OF RICKETS WITH A COD LIVER OIL CONCENTRATE IN MILK

This report concerns the use of cod liver oil concentrate containing vitamins A and D incorporated in a standard evaporated whole milk in the prevention of rickets. It also includes a study of the prevention of scurvy in the same infants by the use of canned ripe pineapple juice as the sole source of vitamin C. The literature on the use of antirachitic agents incorporated in milk deals only with vitamin D added in various ways. It does not seem necessary to review these reports. The interrelationship of vitamins A and D in the prevention of rickets has been stressed by several investigators.¹There seems to be no doubt that cod liver oil or some preparation of cod liver oil which includes both vitamins is the most reliable antirachitic agent available today for the prevention or the treatment of rickets. No clinical study has been reported on the amount

Plural Nature of Vitamin B

ONE group of rats was supplied with vitamin B carriers that had been subjected to intense ultraviolet irradiation. The animals developed a severe dermatitis and died. A second group received tikitiki, an alcoholic extract of rice polishings, as the sole source of vitamin B. After some ten or twelve weeks these rats became denuded, assumed a very miserable appearance, and finally they died also.

The Vitamin A Content of a Ration and the Antirachitic Potency of Irradiated Ergosterol

It has been established by several investigators1 2 that irradiated ergosterol is not as effective in the prevention of legweakness in the chick as cod-liver oil when the former is supplied in an amount equivalent in antirachitic potency to the latter, or even several times this potency, as determined by the rat assay method. As is well known, cod-liver oil in the poultry ration supplies vitamin A as well as the antirachitic factor, whereas an irradiated ergosterol solution, usually the sterol dissolved in a vegetable oil, does not contain this factor.When legweakness is prevented by the use of sunlight or ultraviolet light from an artificial source, yellow corn is usually depended upon as the sole source of vitamin A, and the 47 per cent of yellow corn in the practical ration employed in this investigation would be expected to supply sufficient of the A factor.Nothing is known as .